Phantasmagoria
by Annie Sparklecakes
Summary: AU. Sakura falls in love with a book, Kiba's trapped inside one, and Sasuke's all that can bring them together. This is a typical love triangle, but the real story is anything but traditional.
1. Prologue

**Phantasmagoria  
**_Prologue_

There are two things you need to know before you read my story: (a) this is a love story, and (b) I'm really materialistic.

I say the first as a warning, a disclaimer. You get no car chases or conspiracies here, just sap. I say the second because a love story always seems to imply that one or both of the participants are perfect. Not that my materialism is my defining characteristic, but it's something that can't be mistaken for endearing, like stupidity or klutziness. Besides, I'm really not stupid _or _klutzy.

You'll notice that I mentioned that at least one of the main characters in a love story is expected to be perfect. Well, here's the thing about my love story, and this is what makes it kind of interesting: the only person it involves – at least at the moment I really fell for the first time – is myself.

-x-

To me, a love story implies drama, and a drama implies the kind of soap operas that played in the early '90s, the kind of soap opera that my nanny would switch to from a much better show involving a talking rabbit.

This love story, not so much. I mean, there were tears and triangles and betrayals and kissing in the rain and all that good stuff, but that all came much later. The story started, as all good things do, at a garage sale.

I make it a point never to buy used things. I mean, I don't even get books from the _library_. I like my things fresh, untainted. But Naruto, he loves things like that, things that come with a story attached. He's the one that dragged me to that garage sale that fateful Sunday in September. Shikamaru made some excuse about buying a new car, so I was stuck with no ride _except _Naruto. He promised to take me to work, but only if I went to the stupid sale with him.

"Sakura-chan, look at this! _Pogs!_"

"What are you going to do with Pogs, Naruto? No one even has them anymore."

"I know!" Naruto beamed at me. "I'll be the only one on the block with them! I'll be so cool!"

Naruto lives in his own little word, one with sunshine on crack, and way too many exclamation marks.

"Whatever you say, Naruto." My hair was starting to stick to the back of my neck – it was a surprisingly hot day – and I asked, "Can we go yet?"

"After I buy something," he said. I should mention that, by this point, Naruto had already bought a snow globe, an orange lava lamp, and a ratty old journal. "You want anything, Sakura-chan? Look, they have some nice necklaces."

Ew.

"No thanks," I said. "Come on, already. I'll buy you lunch if we leave _now_."

Naruto was only too eager to leave after that. Naruto's one of those easy-to-please types. God knows what he _ever _saw in a girl like me. He bought the Pogs (idiot) and drove me to work. I worked in a pet store, which I kind of hated, but I was in charge of the puppies, which I _loved_.

"Can I play with the dogs today?" Naruto asked when I bought him a burger from the food court. Ramen is his favorite, but I didn't have the time for Ichiraku.

"Sure."

"You should sell foxes. I would buy one."

"Well, Naruto, you happen to be one of a kind. Thank God."

"That's mean, Sakura-chan…"

We had a lot of dogs. My favorite was this tiny white furball named Akamaru. Akamaru barked up a storm whenever anyone tried to buy him, so he had been in the store as long as I was, but he _loved _me. I would've gladly taken him if I had any way to take care of him, but I really only ever went home to sleep.

Naruto played with the dogs while I cleaned the store. I didn't really have to deal with any of the other animals, but the store was everybody's responsibility. My coworker Hinata had had her shy little eye on Naruto for ages, so I asked her to switch jobs with me for a while. She went off to brush the dogs – which, naturally, Naruto was only too eager to help with – while I took over the counter.

I was just adjusting a display of squeeze toys when the door opened and in walked, I am not kidding you, the most perfect boy _ever_.

You know how I keep saying that my love story doesn't involve anyone perfect? I wasn't lying. Sasuke – the one who walked in that day – isn't perfect, but he's perfect _looking_.

Oh, and he's also – as I noticed right from the get-go – a Wishmaker.

A lot of people don't believe Wishmakers exist. My mom does, though, and since she is the most practical person _ever, _I've always believed that they did, too. She wouldn't ever say why she believed, but come on. How else do you explain the good things that happen in the world, those miracles that can't be explained any other way?

Three ways to recognize a Wishmaker: they're outrageously good-looking (well duh, they have the power to do what even plastic surgery can't); they have this aura around them you can't really explain or understand unless you know what it is; and they're assholes.

Well, okay, that last one I added myself, after I met Sasuke. He doesn't appreciate my theory.

Anyway, that day Sasuke came into my life, I knocked over my meticulously-arranged pyramid of toys, turned the exact shade of my hair (pink, if you're wondering, and no, I don't dye it. I'm just special), and asked, "Can I help you?"

"Do you sell weasel food?" were the first words Sasuke ever said to me, and I'll never let him live it down.

I must have looked surprised, because he explained, "They're for my brother," like that was supposed to make more sense. "It's his birthday today."

"Um. No," I said. "Your brother's a weasel?"

"In all but shape," he said. "Do you know where I can get some weasel food?"

I almost asked him why he didn't just conjure it for himself. Wishmakers aren't like Genies – they can use their magic without a wish, and they don't need a master. They pretty much do what they want, though they live by some sort of code. I don't understand it.

"If it's a gag gift," I said, "You could just buy him a toy. Or Bitter Apple spray. It's for dogs, but…" I waved to the spray, and Sasuke walked over to the shelf, picked up a bottle. "It's to discourage dogs from chewing things they shouldn't." Sasuke smirked, eyes flashing up to mine. "Just, uh, don't let your brother ingest any. That could be bad."

"I make no promises," he said, and set down the bottle. "I'll take it. Give me a box of treats, too. I can train him."

"You're such a nice guy," I said, but I obliged. I'm all for mocking. I rang up the order, Sasuke paid, took his bag, left. And I was left staring after him. I'd never thought I'd meet a Wishmaker.

I told Naruto about it later, when he was driving us back to campus. Naruto believes in anything, from magic to Pokémon. This kind of thinking gets him into trouble, but it makes him a good person to talk to.

"Aw, man. And I missed it!" he said.

I was sitting in the passenger seat, looking through Naruto's garage sale purchases. "This is such a load of crap."

"Why didn't you tell me, Sakura-chan? I wanted to see him!"

"Honestly, Naruto, what are you going to do with someone's old diary?"

"Are you even listening to me?" He glanced at me, at the journal in my hand. "And I'm going to read it, of course. Most things come with a hidden story – this one's already written for me!"

"I don't understand you," I said, and tossed the book into the backseat with the rest of our things.

Naruto took me all the way up to the North parking lot. The South would have been better, but Ino happened. She came running up to the car, flung open my door, and screeched, "My laptop's busted, my essay's due in the morning, _take me to the mall_," so of course I had to get out of there. A hysterical Ino is a terrifying Ino.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry," she urged, and I rushed to grab my things from the car – my purse, my bag, my jacket (I really don't know why I had bothered with it that day) – and booked out of there.

I always finished my work on time, but my friends just refused to follow my lead. It would have saved them so much trouble if they did. Instead, while Naruto chauffeured Ino to buy a new laptop charger, I took a shower, washed off all the grime and sweat from my day, then settled down with the paperback I had been carting around in my purse all day.

Which was when I found the journal.

Like I said, I'm not into used things. So I don't really know why I picked up the journal, while I opened it and began to read. Naruto's words stuck, I suppose, and I had always liked a good story. So instead of reading about Lizzie Bennet, I learned about Inuzuka Kiba.

And, as it turned out, he was pretty interesting.

Yeah. Understatement of the year.

-x-

Kiba's first entry went something like this: _Dear Life. Stop sucking. _His next entry read: _This is getting old. _Number three was: _Someone, read me, _please.

You can see why I read on. For one thing, the entries were only a line long, two at most. For another, _"Read me"_? The guy was clearly unhinged.

But I might have been too, considering how hard I fell for him.

The entire journal took me maybe an hour to go through. He ended with _If you read me, I will devote my life to you_, and the next page was blank, so I tossed the book down, still open, onto my bed, and stretched, ready to turn in for the night. I stood to brush the tangles out of my hair and lay out my clothes for the next morning, wondering about the Wishmaker I had seen earlier (I actually didn't know his name yet, then). When I turned out the light and returned to bed, the book was still open to that page, only the page wasn't blank anymore.

_It's about time_, the page read. _What's your name, sweetheart?_

Which was how I fell in love with a book.

* * *

You know, I'm not entirely sure of what the pairing's going to end up as. I'm just as likely to make it a MinaSaku as I am a SasuSaku or KibaSaku, you know.

You might see some similarities to Serendipity in the basic premise of this book. Sorry. But the fic itself will be pretty different.

Comments, especially on the writing style, are, as always, appreciated, and next chapter will be longer.

**Blanket Disclaimer: **I own nothing someone else does.


	2. Chapter One

**Phantasmagoria  
**_Chapter One_

Before you ask, yes, I _have _read all the Harry Potter books. I've re-read them, and re-read them, and re-read them. I've had nightmares about the Basilisk and very good dreams about marrying Bill Weasley.

The point is, I wasn't a total idiot when I saw the note – from Kiba, as I would discover later. I was suspicious. I was wary.

But I still wrote back.

Not at first, of course. Most people don't see a note in a journal and immediately decide that someone's trying to communicate with them. But I stared at that page, and then – I don't know why – flipped to the next page. And there, waiting for me, was:

_Hello?_

But maybe these notes had been left over from before. Maybe they were planted as a very clever prank to whatever sucker read the stupid journal. It was possible, so I flipped the page. Nothing.

I switched back to that last page, examined the ink. It was dark and shiny – fresher than the earlier entries.

After a moment, I turned the page again.

_I know you're reading me, Sweetheart_, it said. _Why don't you write back?_

I hesitated for only a moment because, sure, it could have been a prank, but it wasn't like anyone would have to know I fell for it. And besides, if I could believe in Wishmakers – had met one only hours earlier – then I could believe in a talking (well, you know what I mean) book, right?

Right.

(But full confession? I think it was the _Sweetheart _that got me.)

I turned the page. _Um, _I wrote. I didn't know what else to say.

_Progress! _He wrote back on the next page. _Hi there._

_Hi_, I wrote. _Who the hell are you?_

Well, I never said I was polite.

_Hey, you should be more respectful, _he returned, _I'm a book. I'm knowledge. Value me._

I didn't know if he was joking or not. _Are you really a book?_

_More like a really hot guy stuck in a book_, he said. _Name's Kiba. And who are you, Sweetheart?_

Kiba. The one who owned the journal.

I wavered for a moment, hesitant to give my name. Who knew how it would come back to haunt me. Words appeared then, however, before I could write.

_Never mind, you don't need to give me your name. We'll stick with Sweetheart. _I smiled, then, _You _are _a girl, right?_

No harm in answering. _Yes. Did the pink pen give it away?_

_Nah_, he said. _I could smell your shampoo._

I didn't know what to say to that. _You can smell me? Can you see me?_

_No, can't see you. Unfortunately. I can smell your hair because it's been dripping water all over my pages._

I flipped a page, flushing. _Sorry._

_No problemo. Now stop flipping pages for a sec._ I obeyed, waiting. He seemed to be thinking, because his next words came slowly, each word measured out. I could almost hear him speaking, carefully, in my ear.

_Here's what you need to know about me, Sweetheart. I'm twenty. I've been twenty for seven years, stuck in this stupid book. And this stupid book, thanks to our conversation, is nearly down to its last page._

I barely kept myself from flipping the page to scribble an answer.

_After that, we can't talk anymore. Which sucks, but what can you do? DON'T TURN THE PAGE, I'M NOT DONE._

_You're the first person to write back, ever, _he continued. _So you must be at least a little bit of an idiot. Don't get offended, Sweetheart. I like idiots._

He didn't continue. I turned the page.

_Why are you in the book? Can't you get out?_

_Let's not waste precious paper on that, Sweetheart. And not that I know of. I only wish. I'd like to meet the girl that capitalizes all her 'r's._

I smiled at that. My heart was racing, the way it used to do when I played hide-and-seek as a kid, and came _so close _to being discovered.

_But let's not think of that. I'm sure I can figure out a way. For now, why don't we close the book? We only have a few pages left. Let's make them last. You don't need to reply._

I stared at that message for a while. Then I set the journal, still open, on my desk.

Then I went to bed.

-x-

Yeah, it was anticlimactic. But just because I have a love story doesn't make it another epic romance. That just isn't me. I woke up in the morning, checked the journal – nothing new – got ready, went to class. Ino had finished her essay, though she looked ready to collapse at any given moment. I took notes in lecture, spaced out in tutorials, ate a granola bar for lunch. And I thought about Kiba.

When I got back to my room, the first thing I did was check the journal.

_I don't know where you are, Sweetheart. Work? Class? Sleeping? This is hardly a functional relationship._

_Well, we have about fifteen pages left. If I spend the day writing to you, and you end it with a letter to me, we can last a week, at least. I don't know if that's something you want to deal with, of course. But it's not like I have anything better to do, so I'll start._

He wrote me a long letter, filling the page, writing tiny to fit it all in. Told me he didn't want to talk about the past, not when everything would be over soon, anyway. He told me instead about what he had planned for the future, before… Before what? I didn't know; he just trailed off, then turned to asking me about myself. His last line made my heart hurt.

_You don't need to answer, Sweetheart. If you'd prefer not to, close the book. Just don't waste a page._

I _knew _it was ridiculous. I _still _know it. There I was, crying over a book. They were just words on a page, and yet they set me off like nothing ever did. Maybe I was a sap. Maybe I was PMS-ing. Or maybe it was because Kiba, my personal secret, was about to disappear, and I couldn't even hold a conversation with him.

Or maybe it was because, even then, I was so attached to him. Maybe it's because the expression _Love at first sight _is a true one, and maybe it applied to us. To me.

I don't know. I didn't know then. I didn't know anything except that I was crying and I wished, _wished so hard, _that he could be real. That he could step out of those pages. That I could see him.

And then I realized that I could.

I flipped the page.

_My name is Sakura, _I began.

-x-

I told Naruto. He thought my plan was insane, but he was very impressed by the journal.

"Garage sales, Sakura-chan. They're _magic_." He looked over my page. I didn't want to close it, or turn the page, just in case it meant I had to start a new one. Still, I felt uncomfortable about him reading it, even if Naruto already knew all my secrets.

"How are you gonna find him?"

"I have no idea," I sighed. "I'm just going to hope I do."

"Hope is a powerful thing, Sakura-chan," Naruto said encouragingly, catching sight of my expression. Then he looked concerned. "But he could be anywhere."

"We need him to come to us," I said. "So first, we need to buy weasel food."

-x-

Yeah, my idea sucked. Sasuke still tells me I'm a complete idiot for thinking I could catch a Wishmaker with pet food.

But if you've been reading closely, you'll realize something important: Sasuke's with me now. So maybe you'll come to the conclusion that my stupid plan actually _worked_.

Well, it did. Sort of.

Sasuke looked about my age, so I advertised the weasel food in all the local colleges, libraries, malls. And then, well, I waited. I didn't know what else to do. I updated Kiba every night, but I never flipped the page to see what he thought about my plan. I didn't want to lose time.

"Sakura-chan, you look awful," Naruto told me every day. My other friends echoed this sentiment, but they were more flat, blunt about it. Only Naruto knew why I was in the state I was in, and only he softened his words with a sad, sympathetic smile.

"I just need to find the stupid Wishmaker," I would tell him. "And then I'll be okay."

He didn't look like he believed me. I can't say I blame him, since it took me a month to find Sasuke.

But I _did _find him. One day, at the mall with Ino, I saw my ad up on the wall. There were a couple guys, a few years older than me, standing by it. One of them, a blond with a hairstyle like Ino's, was speaking.

"Weasel food?" He laughed. "Someone call Sasuke, yeah? He'd like this. It can go with the birthday present he bought Itachi last month."

_Bingo_, I thought, and moved closer.

"I thought Itachi's birthday's in June," grunted another, tall, with blue hair (whatever, my hair's pink, I don't judge).

"It is," said the blond. "But you know how Sasuke is. He hates Itachi."

It wasn't much, but it was all I had to go on. So I took a breath, prepared myself to look like an idiot, and said, "Excuse me?"

The blond, the tall guy, and another one – a pretty, silent redhead – turned to look at me.

"Can I help you?" the tall guy asked.

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "I'm the one selling weasel food. I've been looking everywhere for Sasuke. Could you tell me where I can find him?"

"Another one," the blond said with a smirk. "Sasuke's not going to like this." And then miraculously, magically, he held out a hand. "Got a pen?"

It was just that easy.

-x-

When I got home, I turned the page.

_FINALLY_, Kiba said. I have to admit, this startled me. _I've been waiting for you to turn the page for so long_, he went on, his letters spiky and big. He was angry. _This is a really bad way to communicate._

Did I ever know it.

I had to sit on my hands so I wouldn't accidentally turn the page to reply. Kiba went on:

_DON'T call the Wishmaker, okay? We have a week. That's enough. DON'T CALL THE WISHMAKER, SAKURA._

I stared at that message. I hated that I couldn't ask him why he was so against Wishmakers. If I _did _ask, I would lose time with him. If only we could communicate properly.

I knew I shouldn't talk to Sasuke, not if Kiba was against it. But the more I thought of the journal ending and having to say goodbye to Kiba, without ever even having a proper conversation with him, or hearing his voice, or seeing him face-to-face, or even learning _anything _about him besides his name, the more panicked I felt.

I touched the page, ran my fingers along his last word, my name, and exhaled.

I had to do it.

-x-

"Sakuraaaaa! Where have you been?" Ino asked me. "I've barely even seen you in _ages!"_

"You saw me yesterday," I reminded Ino. I was on my way to meet Naruto in the parking lot, and he would drive us to the address I received at the mall.

"Right," Ino said, taking off her sunglasses and squinting at me in the morning sun. "Saturday afternoon. We always spend Saturday night together." This was true; we usually spent half the night studying, half watching bad movies, and the entire night stuffing our faces.

"Sorry, Ino," I said, meaning it. "I was busy."

"Yeah? With what?"

I just looked at her. Thing is, Naruto's my closest friend, but Ino is my _best _friend. I've known her longest out of all my friends, and we've _always _been together. And yet… how could I tell her about Kiba? I could tell Naruto; it was Naruto, after all, who talked about a demon fox named Kyuubi, and a world of ninja, back when we met in the seventh grade. Naruto is very open-minded. But Ino? Not so much. She doesn't believe in anything she can't see, which is odd, because _I'm _the science geek. Ino's more into fantasy.

But there was one thing Ino could understand: _feelings_.

"A guy," I said finally. Ino looked surprised. "Not like that!" I added, feeling my cheeks grow hot.

"Oh." She blinked. "Who is he?"

"You don't know him," I said. "He… doesn't go to Konoha U."

"Hm." She slid her sunglasses back on and stepped back. "Well, okay. Just don't get carried away. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience." She pursed her lips, clearly thinking of Shikamaru, who she had broken up with over summer. She was still hung-up on him, not that Ino would _ever _admit it. "I have to get to the library now. Wanna join me?"

"I have something to do," I said. "I'll call you later. We'll go out for dinner with Naruto and Chouji, okay?"

"Sure," she said, hitching her bag higher on her shoulder. "See you later, Sakura."

"Bye," I said, shooting her a quick, apologetic grin before racing off to find Naruto. He was sitting on his hood, drinking a can of Pepsi.

"What took you?" he asked, unlocking the car. I slid into the passenger seat with a sigh.

"I met up with Ino," I said. "Let's go out for dinner tonight."

"Are you asking me out?"

"Shut up and drive," I said, lowering my window. It was nice out, a perfect, crisp fall morning. Naruto switched on the radio and we drove in relative silence, but for the music and occasional directions from Naruto's GPS.

"I wonder what kind of place a Wishmaker lives in," Naruto mused when we were only minutes away. "A lamp, maybe?"

"Funny," I said. "He's probably loaded, to live here." We were in a wealthy neighborhood, a gated community with houses worth several million.

Naruto whistled, long and low, as he turned onto Sasuke's street. "No kidding."

Sasuke's house was a Victoria-style mansion, towering over all the neighboring houses. The grounds were sprawling, finely kept. As Naruto rolled onto the circular driveway, I spotted at least three people working on the gardens. Basically, it was big. _Really _big.

"Rich people," I said, laughing weakly. "You know how they are."

"Uh-huh," Naruto said, nodding dumbly. "Well, let's go in," he said.

"What, we just walk in?" I asked.

"Why not?"

As if in response, when we stepped out of the car, the front doors opened. Someone – a maid, it looked like – appeared at the top of the steps.

"Hello?" she called down. "Can I help you?"

"Um," I said, glancing back at Naruto. "We're here to see Sasuke?"

"Sasuke-sama is very busy right now," she said. "I'm afraid you can't meet him right now."

"What?" I stepped forward, onto the first stone step. "No, wait, _please_. I really need to see him. _Please_, it won't take long."

The maid didn't look impressed. "I'm sure it won't. He can't see you."

After _everything_, I wasn't going to be stopped here. I couldn't be. I could feel my cheeks reddening from anger, and I took a breath. I had a temper, and it would get me nowhere.

"_Please." _My voice broke – from frustration, not tears, but the maid softened upon hearing it.

"I'm very sorry," she said. "Sasuke-sama has no time for fangirls. He won't see you."

_Fangirls?!_

"No, you don't understand," I started.

"Can you pass on a message?"

I turned. Naruto was staring up at the maid, frowning thoughtfully.

She hesitated, then nodded.

"Tell him we have his weasel food," Naruto said. "And we really _wish _he would come back to the pet store and pick it up. It would _make _us happy."

The maid looked at us strangely. "Okay," she said. "I'll pass on the message. What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," he said with a smile, shooting me a warning look. "Namikaze Minato's son. I met him at a party."

It wasn't often that Naruto used his father's influence, and I highly doubted he had ever even been to any of his parties.

Still, the maid didn't need to know that. She evidently knew who Namikaze Minato was, though, since her eyes widened and she hastened to assure them that she would "let Sasuke-sama know."

"You think he'll come?" I asked when we pulled away, having gained nothing at all.

"We can hope," Naruto said. "You know what they say. Hope moves mountains."

"I thought that was love," I said.

"We got that, too," he said, and at first I was surprised, thinking he meant me and Kiba, but he went on, "I love you, Sakura-chan."

I laughed. "I love you, Naruto!" Because I did. Still do. "Thanks for doing this for me," I added, thinking of his use of his father's name. They had a strained relationship.

"Don't thank me yet," Naruto said. "Now where are we going for dinner?"

-x-

I ask Sasuke sometimes why he listened to Naruto's message. Was it because of the hint that we knew what he was? Was it because of Naruto's father? Or, impossible as it is, was it because of me?

Sasuke says it was none of these things. He came, he says, for the weasel food.

The only thing is, I didn't actually have weasel food. I mean, I tried to get it, but couldn't find it, and then Naruto told me not to bother. "You just need to attract him," he said. "He doesn't actually need the weasel food."

Maybe Naruto just hadn't believed he would come.

But come he did, just one day after we tried to meet him. Sasuke strolled into the pet shop in the middle of my shift, while Hinata was in the coffee shop three stores down and Naruto was – as usual – playing with the dogs. Akamaru barked when Sasuke entered, which made me look up.

"Sasuke!"

"You called?"

He was spinning his keys around, one eyebrow raised. I stood there, not knowing what to say.

"Sakura-chan?"

_Thank God. _"Naruto!" I said, beckoning him over. "This is Sasuke! He came!"

"Wow, he came," Naruto echoed. Then he blinked. "He came!"

Sasuke flicked a glance at Naruto. "I came, yes. Where's my weasel food?"

"Oh, we don't have any," Naruto said.

"Then why am I here?"

"Because we need your help," Naruto said impatiently. "There's this guy—"

"What's in it for me?" Naruto stared, and Sasuke elaborated: "Why should I help you?"

"Because that's what decent people do?"

"Who said I'm decent?"

"How can you refuse that face?" Naruto said, gesturing towards me. I tried to look appropriately pitiful. Sasuke wasn't impressed.

"No." And he turned to go.

"Are all Wishmakers like this, Sakura-chan?" Naruto stage-whispered. It wasn't like anyone was around to hear but me and him, after all.

Sasuke tensed. "What."

"Wishmakers," Naruto repeated. "Are they all total jerks?"

"I'm not a Wishmaker—"

"Save it," Naruto snapped. Sasuke glared at him, and he glared right back. It was time for me to step in.

"We haven't told anybody," I said to Sasuke. "We're not going to, either. We just need your help. I have a wish."

Sasuke considered this. "You're not hearing me," he said finally. "What reason do I have to help you?"

I have to admit, I hadn't thought of this.

"I, uh…" I racked my brain, trying to think of something that would appeal to Sasuke, who was both filthy rich _and _a Wishmaker. What could I possibly offer? "I'll do _anything_. Just name your price."

Sasuke's expression didn't change.

"It's really important," Naruto added irritably. He wasn't helping my case, and I glared at him to shut up. He didn't notice, locked in another staring contest with Sasuke.

"Can't help you," Sasuke said.

"You know, you're kind of an asshole," Naruto said.

Sasuke sneered. "Is that supposed to _convince _me? Idiot."

I grit my teeth. Hinata would be back soon, Sasuke would leave, and I had nothing. Kiba's last chance was going to walk out, and then what would we do? Leave him in that book? No matter what he said, that was no way to go.

"_Please," _I said again. "My friend – he needs your help. He's stuck in this stupid journal, and—"

Sasuke looked to me, eyebrows flying up. Way up. "Trapped in a book?" When I nodded, he asked, "What's his name?"

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Inuzuka…" Sasuke murmured. Then he stepped closer to me. Naruto moved to intercept him, but I held up a hand. "I'll give you my number," Sasuke said.

This threw me off. "What?" I didn't believe it.

"Find out why he's in the book," Sasuke said. "And then call me."

I handed him my phone so he could enter his number. "You mean it?" I said eagerly. "You'll help us?"

"Depends on your answer," Sasuke said, sliding the phone back to me. "Let's hope it's the right one."

-x-

We had thirteen pages left. I took a deep breath and flipped the page.

_You're going to be really mad at me… _I began.

Thinking back on it now, Ginny Weasley probably felt something like I did. Things didn't turn out so great for her, either.

-x-

Moving too fast? I think so, and yet, I like this pace. I love this fic. I can't remember the last time I wrote so much in one day. And I find it hilarious that when I wrote my first KibaSaku chapter-fic – Disenchanted – people asked me what on earth I was doing, yet for this fic, I'm being _encouraged _to make it KibaSaku. Anyway. I know what this fic will end up as, but I'm not giving anything away. My lips are sealed!

Also, _no_, this fic wasn't inspired by _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_. I realized later that Kiba's journal was like Tom Riddle's diary, but… no. this fic was inspired by the novel _Swoon_, and by season 7 of 24, though I don't expect anyone to understand that one.

Review!


	3. Chapter Two

** Phantasmagoria  
**_Chapter Two_

_I can't believe you called the Wishmaker_, Kiba wrote, _after I _told _you not to!_

This was actually the third time he had said that – on _one _page. It was all I could do not to flip a page and demand an actual answer to Sasuke's question – how had Kiba ended up in that book?

We had about twelve pages, and I was too scared to waste them arguing. Best to just let Kiba get out what he needed to get out.

_Sakura. Answer me._

He hadn't called me 'Sweetheart', and I knew he was mad. Really mad. I had to remind myself he couldn't actually _do _anything to me before I summoned up the courage to turn the page.

_I _know _you're _mad, I said. _And I know I went behind your back. But what could I do? I can't just let you spend your last days in a book._

I took a breath, thinking of Sasuke. Kiba's freedom was only a phone call away.

_Please, tell me who trapped you in the book. And why. I can get you out. _Then, with only a moment's hesitation, I added, _I want to see you._

I flipped the page. He didn't answer for a long while, and I worried that I had scared him off. Maybe I had come on too strong. After all, we barely knew each other, and he was only a book, besides, and—

_His name was Uchiha Itachi_, Kiba wrote.

I waited. He didn't say anything else, and I turned the page.

_Uchiha Itachi? A relation of Sasuke? His brother, actually, I think – I heard some guys mention him at the mall. You think that might be a problem?_

_Maybe_, he said. _Wishmakers are born, not made, you know. And I don't know – I don't know anything about Sasuke. _You _do. My life's in your hands._

I ran my fingers over the weathered page, stomach tying itself into knots. We only had seven pages left. I had to know why he was in the book.

_I don't know why he trapped me. I don't know what I did to him,_ Kiba said, as if he read my mind. It was funny, how _he _read _me _like an open book.

But I wasn't thinking it was funny then. I was reading over Kiba's last few words, and feeling my temper rise.

Kiba didn't know why Itachi had trapped him. He didn't know _what he had done wrong. _What kind of asshole traps a boy in a book for no good reason? I thought of Sasuke. When I had asked him if his brother was a weasel, he had said, _'In all but shape.' _I thought he was just being resentful in that way younger siblings sometimes are (not that I'd know – I'm an only child), but maybe he knew exactly what kind of jerk his brother was.

Only one way to find out.

_I'm calling Sasuke_, I wrote, and then I picked up my phone.

-x-

You know how sometimes you leave a party at like two in the morning, and you're so exhausted you're practically sleepwalking, and the next morning you wake up at noon in your bed, completely relaxed, but you just can't remember how you got home, changed, and into bed?

That's how I felt when Naruto, Sasuke, and I met up at the pet store (well, where else was I supposed to go? Too many people at our dorms, and I didn't think Sasuke would invite us into his house – not with Itachi so close by). I couldn't remember calling Naruto, or getting into his car with the journal safely tucked inside my purse, or even unlocking the door to the back room, where Sasuke could do his magic, uninterrupted. I didn't remember hanging up the 'Sorry, we're CLOSED' sign in the window, though I remember hoping I didn't get caught.

I just remember calling Sasuke.

"It was your brother," I told him. "Your brother's name is Itachi, right?"

"Right," he said. And then he was quiet. I could hear him shuffling some papers on his end of the line and wondered where he was, what he was doing. Finally, he continued: "I thought it might be him, actually."

"So was that the right answer?" I asked. I was holding the phone so tightly it actually seemed to crack, but I couldn't help it. How was I going to face Kiba if Sasuke said no? I couldn't. I would probably go after Sasuke, threaten him until he agreed, and then—

"It was," Sasuke said.

Those two words were the greatest two words I've ever heard in my life, to this very day. Even better than the three that came later.

"Oh, God," I breathed. "_Thank you. _You don't know how much I—"

"Okay," he said hastily. "I get it. When do you want to do this?"

When we met up at the pet store, Naruto said, "Sorry, I was wrong. You're not such an asshole after all! Thanks for helping us." And he reached out to clap Sasuke on the back.

Sasuke gave him a look that, I swear, made me shiver all over, and I wasn't even the one on the receiving end.

"Don't insult me," he said. "I'm doing this because I want to make my brother as miserable as possible. Not for _you_." He turned his gaze to me. "_Or_ you," he said, as if to make sure I didn't get the wrong idea.

"Of course not," I said.

"Wow," Naruto said flatly. "Never mind. You _are _an asshole."

Sasuke only nodded – he didn't even look a bit offended – and I led them to the back room, where we stored supplies.

"Is this okay?"

Sasuke wrinkled his nose – probably at the smell – but nodded. "It'll do. Where's the journal?"

I took it out of my purse and handed it to him, trying to ignore the butterflies that had suddenly taken up residence in my stomach.

If you've never seen a Wishmaker Make a wish, let me tell you, it's not that exciting. I mean, you think Wishmaker, you think genie, you think Aladdin, right? Well, Sasuke doesn't sing. There are no sparkles, no confetti, no explosions. Basically, Sasuke asked for my Wish – "To get Kiba out of the book he's trapped in. Oh, with clothes on." (I watch a lot of movies; I knew to cover the bases) – touched the book with the tips of his fingers, set it down on the floor in the center of the room, and then made a bunch of hand gestures. Seals, he called them.

Sasuke's hands are very pale and big, with long fingers. Those long fingers flashed through his 'Seals' – they laced together in a final movement, and then – well, in a total cliché move, there was a poof of smoke, and I couldn't see.

"Whoa," I heard Naruto breathe.

And then the smoke cleared. And I saw him for the first time.

"Kiba?" I said tentatively, stepping forward.

My first thought was that Kiba was… _big. _Well, anyone looks big if he suddenly changes from a book to a person, I suppose. Not that the journal disappeared – it was lying just a few inches from where Kiba was crouched, looking shell-shocked.

When you meet someone through words – letters, emails, whatever – you're never quite prepared for how they really look. Kiba was… wild-looking. His hair was dark, spiky, untamed. His eyes were narrowed, flicking around the room, taking everything in. and he had these weird red tattoos on his cheeks.

But that isn't to say he wasn't good-looking.

I took him in in an instant, and – judging by the way his gaze traveled over me – he was doing the same. When his gaze locked on mine, he smiled. And let me tell you, that smile made my stomach do somersaults.

"Sakura," he said, and rose to his feet.

I forgot that Sasuke and Naruto were in the room – even though it was a small room, and crowded with shelves and cardboard boxes and big bags of food – and I guess Kiba did, too. That, or he really didn't care, because he reached out as I approached, took my hands, pulled me to him, and – before I could react – planted on me a kiss that, seriously, made my toes curl.

When we broke apart, I stared at him. He just looked down at me, grinning his crooked little Kiba-grin.

"You mind if I take a shower?" he said. "It's been a few years since my last."

Which killed the mood, but he really didn't smell bad. He smelled kind of like an old book. A bit musty and dry, but… fresh. Somehow. Still, I nodded wordlessly – I was still in shock. For his part, Kiba only smiled at me, then nodded to the other boys.

"My car's outside," Naruto said faintly.

"Cool," Kiba said, and walked out – sauntered, really. He didn't seem at all affected by what had just happened.

I turned, slowly, to face Naruto – who was very pale and disturbed – and Sasuke, who looked smug.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto's voice was choked. "He just kissed you."

My lips were still tingling. I felt myself redden. "Yeah, um. I wasn't expecting that."

Naruto shook his head. "Who does this guy think he is? I'm gonna kick his ass…"

Sasuke scoffed as Naruto left the room, grumbling to himself. He was looking at me. "You should tell him you liked it. See what he says," he added with a little smirk. Sadist.

I wisely chose not to reply to this. "Thank you for this. Really."

Sasuke shrugged. "Don't thank me yet. You're going to have to deal with him now. What to do with him, where to keep him…"

"You make him sound like one of the dogs," I started to say, then broke off, realizing that Akamaru was barking. Loudly.

I cursed and left the back room, hurrying over to the dogs. Akamaru was throwing a hissy fit, trying to crawl over the sleeping puppies and out of their pen. As I neared, I saw why – Kiba was standing only a foot away, beaming like he had found an old friend.

"You have my dog!" he said as I approached.

"_Your _dog?" I asked, glancing at Akamaru. He had to be at least seven to be Kiba's dog. He still looked like a puppy.

"Yeah," Kiba said. "Akamaru, right? What's he doing here?" As he spoke, he bent to scoop Akamaru up and into his arms. The dog yipped, his tail wagging so hard it was beating Kiba in the arms. He only laughed. "Hey, buddy," he said.

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking from Akamaru to Kiba. "I mean, he—" I broke off and shook my head. Akamaru had been there a long time. It wasn't _totally _outrageous to think he had been in the pet shop for seven years. Though I _did _wonder why he wasn't in an animal shelter…

"Can I take him?" Kiba asked suddenly.

"Can you pay for him?" I asked, then regretted it. Kiba's face fell and he shook his head, slowly. He bent to set Akamaru back in the pen. The dog stared up at him, looking betrayed.

"I'll come back for you," Kiba promised. To me, he added, "Don't let anyone take him, okay?"

I didn't tell him that no one would take Akamaru, anyway. Instead I scanned the store and said, "Where's Naruto?"

"His car got towed," Kiba said casually, turning to me.

"_What?"_

"He did a shitty parking job or something," Kiba said. "Point is, car's gone. He's outside now, on the phone."

I shook my head. Only Naruto could manage to get his car towed for _parking_. Leaving Kiba and Sasuke behind, I left the store to find Naruto sitting on the curb, staring at his phone. I sat beside him.

"I called my dad," Naruto explained. "He _laughed _at me."

"At least he isn't mad," I said.

"Of course not," Naruto said. "That would be what a _normal _dad would do." He got to his feet, stretched his arms above his head. He stared down at me. "Well, at least it distracted me from yelling at your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," I said.

"That doesn't really make me feel better about him sucking your face off," he said, holding a hand out to me. I made a face, then let him pull me up.

"So now what?" I asked, brushing off my pants. "How do we get home?"

Naruto looked out across the parking lot. There were a few cars. One was a shiny black Mercedes.

"Maybe Sasuke will drop us off," Naruto mused.

"I will _not_," came Sasuke's voice from behind us. He and Kiba had followed us out. Sasuke stood directly behind us, but Kiba stood at the door to the pet shop, staring through the glass at his dog.

"Not even if I wish for it?"

"Not even then."

"You're a jerk," Naruto said, and I rolled my eyes, brushing past them to go lock up the store. Kiba stepped aside to let me do so, smiling at me.

"Thanks," he whispered to me as I tugged on the door handle, ensuring it was locked tight. "For getting me out."

"No problem."

He reached up, squeezed my shoulder. "I guess _that _should have come first," he said.

And I said, without really thinking, "It's okay. I didn't really mind the kiss."

His grin widened and he leaned down to murmur, "Good, because neither did I." He leaned back again and added, in a voice loud enough to get Naruto's attention, "There are more kisses where that came from, Sweetheart. Better ones, too."

He winked at me, and I laughed, because Naruto looked furious, and even Sasuke looked disgusted. Kiba said it for the reaction, clearly, but I couldn't help but think that that kiss had been good enough.

Eventually, Sasuke agreed to drive us, but only back to Konoha U. Naruto tried to get him to stop for coffee. Sasuke threatened to throw him out of the car – without stopping.

I sat in the front, beside Sasuke, because he refused to let Naruto into the passenger seat.

"What, you're scared of him?" I asked.

"Scared of what he'll do to my IQ level," Sasuke corrected, flicking a glance at Naruto in the rearview mirror. He was badgering Kiba with questions.

"So, what's it like being stuck in a book?"

"Excellent. You should try it."

"Did you know that _I _was the one who picked up your diary? You could've been _my _friend."

"Thank God Sakura intervened. She's much cuter." This, yes, made me turn beet red.

"Hey, quit hitting on her!"

"Make me."

I turned to see Naruto scowling at Kiba, trying to figure him out. Kiba, for his part, remained unruffled, leaning back in his seat, eyes closed. This struck me as a bit odd; you'd think he'd want to see the world he had missed out on for seven years.

"Well," Naruto said finally, "What kind of _man _keeps a diary?"

"The kind that's literate," Kiba said. "So, not you."

Naruto looked outraged and I cut in, "Break it up, you guys. Don't get blood on Sasuke's seats."

Sasuke glared at the road in front of him. I winced.

"Ah, thanks for the ride," I said. "And for the Wish. And—" I broke off, remembering his earlier words. _'Don't thank me yet.' _He was right. What was I going to do with Kiba? He wasn't supposed to exist, not at this age in this time. Where would he stay? What would he do?

I stared out the window, thinking hard, but I couldn't come up with anything. I didn't have the resources to handle him, to settle him in, to avoid questions I couldn't answer.

Eventually, we reached school, and got out of Sasuke's car. I had to remind Naruto to thank him for the ride – he did so sullenly.

"You're like his _mom_," Kiba said to me as we turned to leave.

"You're not the first to say that," I told him wryly. Most people changed their minds as soon as they saw me slap him around a bit. Kiba would, too.

Kiba laughed and put a hand on the small of my back, urging me away from the others. I looked up at his face. His jaw was tense, though his expression was relaxed. Maybe he was still edgy, being around a Wishmaker so close to the one who trapped him. I touched his arm, and he glanced down at me.

"Are you okay?"

"Better than I've been in a long time." He sighed, looked around the campus, taking it all in. "I owe you a lot for this. You pretty much saved my life."

"You'll find a way to pay me back," I assured him. "I like diamonds."

He laughed, a low chuckle, and brought up his free hand to finger the ends of my hair thoughtfully. "Is this natural?"

"It is. Don't pull that line on me. I get it a lot."

He laughed again. "I won't, I won't. So… where's _your _room?" he asked, raising his eyebrows impishly. At my expression, he pointed out, "It's a different line."

"Very funny."

"I can pay you with my body," he said. "No cash for diamonds right now."

"About that," I said, pulling him to Naruto's dorm instead. I could hear him behind us now, running to catch up. "What are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, as Naruto finally reached us. "I'm going to do what I was doing before I was trapped in the book."

I exchanged a look with Naruto. "Don't you think that might be hard?" I asked carefully. "I mean, you're kind of… out of touch."

He just raised his eyebrows again, entirely serious now. "Don't underestimate me, Sweetheart."

He was so firm, so un-Kiba-like, I was kind of taken aback. But I didn't argue.

After he showered and changed at Naruto's (he lent Kiba an outfit. It was orange and brown, much to Kiba's disgust. I knew Naruto did it on purpose.), Kiba left. He didn't tell me where he was going, only promised he'd be back. Then he kissed me on the cheek, and left before I could stop him.

The next morning, I found Kiba sitting on a bench outside my dorm building, two cups of coffee in his hand.

"Hey," he said when I approached, "I'm Inuzuka Kiba. New student, second year, Economics major, and totally ready to start paying you back."

"Whoa," I said, taking the coffee he offered me. "How did you manage that?"

"With my charm, cunning, and stunning good looks," Kiba said. "How else?"

I was impressed. I never underestimated Kiba again.

But like that helped me.

* * *

Quite a bit shorter than last chapter, and it's been a while since I updated. My apologies on both counts. However, next chapter the story can _really _start. Look forward to it; I know I am. Also, a lot of people have been asking me about the MinaSaku thing. Obviously, I'm not _really _going to make this a MinaSaku, but to everyone who's asked, yes, I _really _like that pairing. :D


	4. Chapter Three

**Phantasmagoria  
**_Chapter Three_

On the day Naruto took me to that garage sale, I had called Shikamaru for a ride to work. He said no, and gave me the lamest excuse in the world. He said he was buying a new car. What he was really doing was meeting a girl for lunch.

Like I said earlier, Shikamaru was Ino's ex-boyfriend. He had broken up with her less than two months before, and they had dated all throughout high school and the first year of university. They had such a long-lasting, healthy relationship, and had been friends forever, so all of us, especially Ino, thought they were eventually going to get married. A bit early to think of that, maybe, but whatever.

Shikamaru broke up with Ino so suddenly. No one saw it coming. One day he was carrying her bags in the mall and letting her buy them dinner, the next day she came to my apartment in tears, telling me he had dumped her.

For a month, I hated Shikamaru with Ino. We raged against him and insulted him and mocked him. then we went back to school. Ino pretended he didn't exist, and Shikamaru asked me to look after her. then he asked to compare our schedules so he could skip our common lectures and get notes from me. and we were, kind of, still friends. I mean, it was the same with Chouji, who was Ino's good friend, and Shikamaru's _best _friend. So I thought it was okay. We were all a little separated, but Ino had her friends, Shikamaru had his, and the ones in common were just very careful about dividing their time.

It wasn't a perfect arrangement, but we figured it was stable enough.

And, as I'm sure you can guess, it turned out that it wasn't. Not stable at all.

-x-

"Hey, sorry I'm late," I said, setting down my bag and sliding into the chair across the table from Ino. Kiba and Naruto took seats on either side of me.

"It's okay," she said, pushing my coffee towards me. "Who are you?" she added, to Kiba.

"I'm Kiba. Where's my coffee?"

"You two can get your own," Ino said, slapping Naruto's hand away from where he had tried to make a grab for her muffin. "You should hurry, Lee and Suigetsu are in line now."

Naruto got up; Kiba did not. "Get me a coffee," he said as Naruto left. normally, Naruto wouldn't listen, even if _I _asked, but something about Kiba's tone left no room for debate, so he did as asked. Though he _did _make a face at Kiba as he did so. He hadn't been thrilled to see the two of us together, waiting outside his lecture. He was probably upset that he had to share me with someone else on our way to lunch. I made a mental note to pay him more attention. that would satisfy him.

"So, are you the guy that's been taking up all of Sakura's time?"

"I-_no!_" Honestly, she could be so embarrassing at times.

"What? It's just a question."

Kiba was trying to hide a smile, I could see it. I felt myself redden, because now he would think I had been talking about him, when I _really _hadn't. god only knew what he would say about that.

But he didn't say anything. Instead, he shook his head.

"I doubt it," he told Ino. "I just met Sakura this morning."

I stared at him for about ten seconds, totally uncomprehending. Then he turned and raised an eyebrow at me, almost imperceptibly, so I sputtered out a quick, "Oh, uh, yeah! this morning!"

"We were in the library," Kiba said. "We were both going for the same book," he added, totally straight-faced. I hid a smile and turned back to Ino.

"And then I invited him to eat with us. He just transferred."

"Yeah? From where?"

"Uh…"

"I spent a year here," Kiba said, "And then I took some time off. For personal reasons."

"Oh, okay." Ino shrugged it off, but she didn't fool me. Ino was curious about everyone and everything, and she would probably pester me for details (which I didn't have) later. She just didn't want to look rude. "So, Sakura, who was the guy from Sunday?"

Yeah, Ino doesn't let things go.

"Probably Sasuke," I said. "I went to go see him." Her eyes gleamed, and I added, before she could come to the wrong conclusion, "Naruto went, too. It was nothing."

"What, not cute enough?"

"Ino!" I hissed. "Not in front of Kiba, please!" To him, I added, "Not all girls are this shallow. Ino's a special breed."

"It's okay," Kiba said. "I have a sister. She doesn't care what I hear."

"A sister? Really?"

"Yup. Older. I'll introduce you sometime."

Ino raised her eyebrows at us. I noticed, and hoped Kiba didn't. Time to separate them. "Ino, get me a muffin. I'm starved."

Ino rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "_Fine_. I get it. Kiba, want anything?"

"I'm good, but thanks." He smiled, and she smiled back, then wandered off. As soon as she was out of earshot, he leaned close to me and muttered, "So, tell me about this guy that's been taking up all your time."

"Shut up shut up shut _up_," I said, pressing my hands to my flaming cheeks. "Just ignore her, okay?"

"Is he _cute_?" Kiba asked, adopting a falsetto.

"Meh," I shrugged. Hey, he was asking for it.

"Cuter than Sasuke?"

"No contest," I said. "He's got _nothing _on Sasuke."

"Ouch," Kiba said, actually pulling back, brows furrowed.

"Kidding, kidding," I said. I was about to ask him if he wanted anything to eat, because, come on, he hadn't had anything all day, but before I could, I saw Shikamaru step into the caf.

"What's up?" Kiba asked when he saw me falter. He followed my gaze to Shikamaru, standing by himself and glancing lazily around the caf, probably wondering what to get. He noticed us watching him, and raised a hand in greeting, then turned to buy a cold, wrapped sandwich (ew, by the way). He didn't see Ino, and she didn't see him. that was good.

"Who's that?"

"Ino's ex."

"Is he on drugs?"

I laughed. "No, he's always been like that. he's just… lazy. I don't know. He's cool."

"What's his name?"

"Shikamaru."

"Okay," Kiba said. And that was that. He leaned over, picked up my coffee cup, and took a long sip.

"Hey!" I said, yanking it back. He laughed.

"What, you're embarrassed?" He tugged on a lock of hair, took the cup back again. "We've already shared our germs, it's okay." What a romantic way of putting it, I know.

"I'm _not _embarrassed," I said, which was only half true. "I just don't share my coffee. It's too precious." Okay, this was all true. "And we've only kissed _once _so far."

"Are you hinting at something?"

"Are you hinting that I should hint at something?"

"That made no sense," Kiba said. Then he took a quick look around, before leaning forward and kissing me quickly.

"Um," I said when he pulled away.

"You blush too easily," he said. Then, with a gleam in his eye, added, "We'll have to fix that."

Why not? It wasn't like we didn't have time now.

-x-

You know what I've always hated? Being out, alone, at night. Evenings are okay, but when it turns black outside, I hate to be anywhere but home. I _especially _used to hate being at school when it was dark outside. It felt haunted.

The moment I left the building where my last class had been, I fumbled for my phone. it was only a six-minute walk to my dorm, but at nine, it was pitch-black and spooky outside. I always called Naruto on my way to my room.

He picked up on the second ring.

"_What would you do without me?"_

"Don't flatter yourself," I warned. "I could've called Ino, or Chouji – or even Kiba! Hey, yeah, I should call Kiba!"

"_No, you should _not_,"_ he said, and I laughed. Poor Naruto thought he was going to be abandoned. _"Anyway, he doesn't have his phone."_

"No?"

"_No, he left it with me. He's rooming with me, did you know that?"_

"I did not know that. Wow. How's he pulled all this off?"

"_I dunno. He's probably pretty smart, though. I mean, hey, he used to be literature."_

"It's so weird to think of that," I said, tipping my face back to look up at the sky. On the tree-lined path to the dorms, when everything was dark, I could see a sprinkling of stars. "So, where is he?" I started to ask, but was cut off by a rustle in the woods.

I froze.

"_Sakura-chan? What's up?"_

"Um…" I swallowed, hard, and tried to peer into the trees, see what was approaching. Actually, I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to see. "There's _something here_," I hissed into the phone.

"_Relax, it's probably a deer, or—"_

I didn't want to know what it was anymore. I picked up my pace. As soon as I rounded the bend a few feet ahead, I would be in view of the dorms. I just had to—

"Sakura!"

I shrieked, whirling around so fast I dropped my phone. Kiba was standing in front of me, looking bewildered. He bent to pick up my phone and hand it to me. I could hear Naruto's anxious voice coming from the speaker. Heart thumping wildly, I pressed the phone to my ear.

"—_kura?" Sakura, I'm coming," _he was saying.

"No, don't," I said with a heavy sigh. "It was just Kiba."

"_Kiba? What was he doing?"_

"Who knows," I said, eyeing Kiba. He was waiting, patiently, for me to finish my conversation. "Hey, I'll come to your room in a few, okay?"

"_Alright. Bye!"_

I hung up, and glared at Kiba. "Why did you jump out at me from behind a tree? Do I want to know what you were doing there?"

"I didn't _jump out _at you," he said. Then he rubbed his head, cringing. "But God, could you _possibly _scream louder?"

"Of course I'm going to scream! I thought you were a werewolf, or Voldemort, or something!"

"…Those don't exist," he said.

"If _you _could come out of a book, why can't they?" Which was a _really _stupid thing to say, but whatever. I started back on my way to the dorms. Kiba fell into step beside me.

"Because I wasn't born into a book, stupid," he said. "I had a life before it."

And all of a sudden, I felt inexplicably sad. Kiba had had a life, and then Itachi took it away from him. Who knew all that he had lost, all that he had missed out on in the last seven years? He would never get that time back.

"Would you tell me about it?" I asked, slipping my hand – tentatively; I wasn't sure where we stood, exactly, yet – into his. His palm was warm against mine, even in the chill of the night.

"It doesn't matter anymore," he said. "I'm not part of that life now. _this _is my life."

"Let me guess," I said, before I could stop myself. "_I'm _your life now?"

He didn't reply for a long moment. Then he tugged a bit on my hand, pulling me to stop in the middle of the path. I turned to face him. no one was around.

"I lost _everything, _Sakura," he said, voice low. "My family, my friends, my _life_. I was trapped in paper for seven years, with no one to speak to, nothing to do. I was _losing my mind_ when you found me."

I didn't say anything. What _could _I say?

"There's nothing in my life now – except _you_. You're all I see, all I know. so yes, Sakura, as it stands now, you _are _my life. You're all there is for me."

Say what you will about Kiba being terribly cheesy. But _I _was the one there, hearing these words coming out of his mouth, seeing the sincerity in his eyes…

I don't know.

Everything was moving so fast, too fast. But let's face it; I had been drawn to Kiba from the first time he had called me Sweetheart. I had fallen for him back when we couldn't possibly be together. And then, against all odds, we _could. _He was in my life, and he was clearly there to stay. Love stories like ours didn't happen very often.

There wasn't anything to say. So I didn't say anything.

-x-

We took almost another half hour to get to Naruto and Kiba's room.

Thankfully, Naruto didn't say anything, though I was sure he noticed my tousled hair, wrinkled clothes, and smeared lip gloss. Classy, I know. but whatever.

"I just got a text from Lee. Tenten's having a party this Saturday. Wanna go?"

Ew, parties. I liked Tenten enough, but well, _everyone _liked Tenten. There was sure to be a lot of people, few of whom I'd know. I'm not really social, not like Naruto and Ino.

"You can show off _Kiba_," Naruto said, making a face.

"Green is not your color, man," Kiba said. "Neither is Naruto, by the way. So, are we going?" he asked, turning to me. I took a seat at Naruto's desk, chewing on my lip. He looked so excited, I couldn't refuse.

"Fine, whatever," I said, stifling a sigh. "But for now, I have a lab to do. So, laters."

"Don't stay up too late," Naruto said.

"Call me if you do," Kiba said, loud enough for Naruto to hear.

"OR NOT," Naruto said, loud enough for the entire campus to hear.

I laughed. "Good _night_, guys."

You may notice that I completely forgot to ask Kiba what he'd been doing. If only I was so observant, right?

-x-

When I got to my room, Ino called me.

In first-year, Ino and I had roomed together. But as much as I like Ino, we're just _too different _– living together was a nightmare. She was out all night – sometimes at a party, sometimes with Shikamaru, sometimes at the library – and I was out all day. So not only did we never see each other, but our schedules were always conflicting. When I woke up in the morning, I disturbed her sleep. When she took showers, she used up all the hot water.

So we decided that, second year, we should separate, for the sake of our friendship (and grades, because it was really hard to study when living with your best friend of so many years). Through some glitch, I was living alone (I had a roommate, but she canceled her registration at the last minute, and I guess I was just forgotten, so, yay! An entire room for me.), while Ino was rooming with a sorta-friend, Shiho. Actually, I thought that was weird, because Shiho had had a huge thing for Shikamaru the year before. It had been both cute and creepy.

Anyway, Ino called, and she was all, _"Sakura! Did you mean Sasuke, like, _Uchiha_?"_

"And hello to you too."

"_Sakura!"_

"Yes, you freak," I said, dropping my bag onto my bed with a laugh. "How'd you know? More importantly, so what?"

"_Oh my _God_, Sakura," _Ino squealed. Literally, squealed. I had to actually pull the phone away from my ear. _"He's so cute!"_

I didn't even know what to say to that.

"_He's, uh—" _Ino broke off to clear her throat, as I flopped back onto my bed. _"He's a friend of Shikamaru's. I've met him before. Once."_

"Small world."

"_Yeah. Well, anyway… want to edit an essay for me?"_

"Not really."

"Please_, Sakura. Please please pleaseeeeee—"_

"Okay, okay!" I flipped onto my stomach and pulled my bag towards me to fish out my laptop. "Send it. So annoying."

"_You love it," _Ino said. I could hear the clicking of computer keys from her end. _"Oh, so hey, what's the deal with Kiba?"_

"Deal? What deal? There's no deal." Oh, yeah. That wasn't suspicious _at all_.

"_Really." _Ino didn't sound convinced. Small wonder. _"You two seemed really close."_

"Oh, well…" I don't know why I didn't say anything then; maybe it was because Kiba didn't seem to want to share. I didn't know why _he _was keeping our relationship quiet, of course. But I went along with it. Stupid me. "I don't know. We're just friends."

"_You don't like him? Really?" _Ino sounded surprised, and I felt a rush of embarrassment. Had I _really _been so obvious?

"No. Why? Did it look like I did?"

"_Well, you were… Well, whatever. He doesn't seem like your usual type."_

"What?" What _was _my type? "Why? What's wrong with him?"

"_He's… I don't know. Naruto-ish. Okay, I sent the essay. Send it back to me before midnight, okay?"_

"Okay. Pig."

"_Forehead. I'm gonna go shower now. I'm all gross and nerdy. Byeeeee!"_

She hung up before I could say anything, and I dropped my phone with a sigh, then got up to sit against my headboard, laptop propped on my… well, lap, and thought about what Ino had said.

What _was _my type?

-x-

I had my first boyfriend when I was fourteen. I was stupid and inexperienced, and it… really didn't last very long. Only two weeks, actually. But they were two of the best weeks of my life. His name was Sai, and we were, basically, all over each other, all the time. We would walk together in the halls, hold hands in the caf, call each other every morning and every night… and that's just the light stuff.

Anyway, after we broke up, it was too awkward between us for us to stay friends – which sucked, because we'd been pretty good friends for almost two years beforehand.

My second boyfriend was when I was seventeen. His name was Gaara. We knew each other for a month before we went out for a year. Gaara was everything Sai was not, and well, I had matured, too. Our relationship was much more controlled than my relationship with Sai.

Anyway, after Gaara, nothing. So, I guess I wasn't super experienced, but, you know, I figured I'd have matured further.

But not so.

Kiba and I were… affectionate, to put it lightly. I should have known from that first kiss, two seconds after we met face-to-face for the first time, that more was sure to follow. I also should have realized that it's not healthy to dive into a relationship so recklessly. I should've slowed down. But I didn't. Because even though I could admit, later on, that if we had kept on the way we did, we wouldn't have lasted, at the time, it didn't matter.

Nothing mattered when I was with him.

* * *

_So _sorry for the wait. This chapter was partly transition-y, so I kept putting it off. I am a bad updater. Anyway. I realize this story might seem to be going nowhere, but – it really isn't. The plot started last chapter, though in a way probably too subtle for you to notice just yet.

Anyway, next chapter will be sooner and longer. :D So yes. Also, a bit of pimping: check out **The General Principles of Ditching at the Altar**, by **La Trizzle**! The link's in my bio, it's a collab between me, aNdreaa, and angelforshow, so you know it's going to be insane. I'd really appreciate reviews for it :D


	5. Chapter Four

**Phantasmagoria  
**_Chapter Four_

The next morning, the shit hit the fan.

I woke up to the beeping of my phone. No one ever called me at night – I was _kind of _particular about my sleep back then – unless it was really important. So I rolled over, blinked once at the clock (8:30 a.m. – I was supposed to have an extra hour of sleep!), and reached for my cell, lying on the nightstand beside me.

I sat up as soon as I saw the Caller ID.

"Ino? What's wrong?"

"_Sakura!"_ Ino sounded winded. On her end of the line, I could hear conversation – a lot of it. People shouting, voices pressing all around. I couldn't make out what they were saying. _"Oh my God, Sakura."_

"Ino! What happened?" I swung my feet over the side of the bed, shivering as I yanked off the comforter. "Where are you?"

"I'm outside – I was going to class, and I saw campus police, and I was kind of worried, you know how paranoid I am, I thought they were there for me but they obviously weren't and—"

Ino only rambled when she was really, _really _anxious. Her voice rose in pitch until, wincing, I cut her off.

"Ino. _Breathe_. Tell me what happened!"

"It's Shikamaru – he just got _arrested_."

-x-

"I don't believe it," Naruto said for the umpteenth time.

"Well, believe it," I said glumly from my seat beside Ino. Her head was on my shoulder, long, white-blonde hair spilling across my arm. I patted her hand consolingly, but I didn't know what to say.

"Shikamaru's not _like _that," Naruto insisted. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to try and grow marijuana right on campus. Or at all," he added hastily.

But, really, I wasn't so sure. Shikamaru had always been kind of weird. Drugs would explain a lot. I met Kiba's gaze. He was leaning against the wall opposite the couch Ino and I sat on. He was quiet.

The four of us – along with Chouji, Lee, and Neji – sat in a back corner in the Student Centre, gathered around three forest green couches surrounding a low white table. We weren't the only group around, and definitely not the only one discussing Shikamaru.

After Ino had told me the news, I had thrown on an outfit, brushed quickly, and all but flown down to the Student Centre to meet her, not even bothering to shower or brush my hair. She had been standing outside with Chouji, looking shaken. I had called Naruto, and the four of us left campus to find a quiet place to get breakfast and talk. I had skipped lecture, of course. Well, some things were more important.

After that, the four of us had changed location to a café, Naruto's room, the library, and, finally, the Student Centre, slowly gathering up more and more friends. Now it was evening, and we were still in shock.

Tenten appeared at my shoulder, carrying a soda each for Chouji and Ino. Ino took hers with a mumble of thanks, lifting her head from my shoulder. I rubbed it absently – her head had been heavy – and looked across to Chouji. He looked to still be in shock, simply staring down at his big hands. Tenten set his soda down on the table in front of him.

"Have some faith, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "The cops messed up. Shikamaru'll be back."

"I hope so, Naruto," I said, but I didn't completely believe it. Shikamaru had been found, not only with the evidence of his little project in his room, but actually _in _the woods lining the edges of campus, only feet away from the plants, marijuana lining his pockets. What else _could _it mean?

Lee clapped a reassuring hand on Chouji's shoulder.

"Shikamaru's smart," Tenten said. "He'll find a way out of this."

"And if he's guilty?" Neji asked, in a common display of his complete lack of tact.

With a strained smile, Tenten stepped back to grind her heel into Neji's foot, eliciting a wince. Bravo, Tenten.

After that, they dispersed, until only Naruto, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, and I were left.

Naruto leaned over to open Chouji's soda. It fizzed and popped, and he handed him the drink. "Don't look so down, man. it'll be okay. You _know _he's innocent."

Chouji stared unseeingly at the soda can in his hands. "Yeah…" Poor guy. Chouji was a sweetheart, and _always _happy. Seeing him so upset was disturbing. Heartbreaking.

"Naruto's right," Ino said, surprising me. she had been quiet and anxious, pale-faced, for most of the day. Now her tone was surprisingly firm. "He'll be back in no time."

Chouji looked at her. She smiled encouragingly; he managed a small one in return.

Ino stood up. "Come on," she said. "I'll walk you back." When he protested, she said, "_Fine_. You can walk _me _back. Okay? Let's go, big guy." She nodded at Naruto, then stepped past me. Chouji got to his feet as well, and the two of them left.

And then there were three.

Naruto came over to sit by me, looking worn. He rubbed at his eyes.

"I'm worried, Sakura-chan," he said, suddenly sounding exhausted. I patted my shoulder – the one Ino had recently vacated – and he leaned heavily against it, sighing.

"I know," I said, smoothing a hand over his soft blond hair. "But he'll be fine."

I looked over to Kiba; he was watching us, a little smirk on his face. Probably amused by the way I was mothering Naruto.

"Are you hungry?" I asked Naruto. He hadn't eaten dinner yet, and it was getting late. "I'll buy you ramen."

Naruto perked up, as I knew he would. His bright blue eyes were still tight with worry, but he nodded, getting to his feet. "Yeah, yeah! your treat, Sakura-chan. Don't back out now."

Well, there went all my earnings for the month.

"You coming?" I asked Kiba, standing up and stretching my arms over my head.

"Nah, I should get back to my room and actually study. Besides," he added, straightening from where he had been leaning against the wall, "I think Naruto wants you to himself for a bit."

"He can share," I said. Yeah right, I know.

"Sure," Kiba agreed, but with a gleam in his eyes. He knew as well as I did how untrue that was, even after only three days of knowing Naruto. He's not what you would call complex. "But _I _can't."

"You are a _brat_," I informed him, bending for my purse. I stifled a yawn. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Not sooner?"

"_Good night_, Kiba."

I left the Student Centre alone, rubbing my arms the moment the cool evening air hit me. Naruto was waiting for me, examining a poster advertising an upcoming guest speaker, some writer named Jiraiya.

"Sorry," I said. "Ready to go?"

"For ramen, when am I not?" he asked, falling into step beside me. "So… are you still going to Tenten's party this Saturday?"

"It's still on?"

"Well… yeah. and I think it's a good thing, get people to loosen up a bit. So make sure Ino comes, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever." We crossed into the parking lot, and headed for Naruto's car. The night was silent and still, the wind rustling softly through the trees. Not many people were out in the parking lot besides us, and I tipped my head back to stare at the sky. Stars were starting to peek out, and the moon was only a sliver in the sky. "Oh, but I have work that day."

We reached Naruto's car, a shiny orange BMW (I _know_, what was his _deal?_), and split, going to our respective sides of the car. He looked at me over the hood.

"…But you're still _going_, right?" Naruto asked, unlocking his car with a _beep_.

"_Yes_, Naruto. God." I opened the passenger-side door and slid in to the leather seat. "Maybe I'll ask Hinata along," I mused, snapping the belt in place as Naruto got in on his side. "By the way, didn't your car get, like, _towed?"_

"Yeah, Dad got it back. He said it was all just a misunderstanding, my car got _accidentally _towed." Naruto snorted. "Probably the towing company was trying to cover their asses. But whatever. No ticket for me!"

"That's good to hear," I said, "Since I doubt you have any money."

Naruto shot me a sheepish grin as he backed out of his space, and I shook my head.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Naruto said after a few minutes of driving in silence. He cruised to a stop before a red light. "My dad actually _does _know Sasuke!"

"Really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and opening Naruto's glove compartment for the mints he kept in there. "Huh. Small world."

"Small town," Naruto corrected. "Man, that could've saved us so much time, if we had asked him at the beginning."

"Like you would have really asked him," I said. "Anyway. What did he say about Sasuke?"

"Not much. He said I should try and get along with Sasuke, said he'd be a good influence on me. so I'm thinking about inviting him to Tenten's party."

I laughed, popping a mint in my mouth and returning the tin to the glove compartment. "Yeah, right. Can you really see Sasuke at a party?"

"Why not? Maybe he likes them." I didn't reply, and Naruto said, "Or maybe not. But still. I can be very persuasive, Sakura-chan."

I made a face. I knew that all too well; Naruto _had _managed to drag me to that garage sale, after all.

My phone beeped then, and I fished it out from my jacket pocket. I flipped it open to find a text waiting.

"Kiba texted me!"

"Congratulations," Naruto said flatly.

"Quit being such a baby," I admonished, pulling up the text. It wasn't much.

_bring me back some coffee? too lazy to buy it myself._

_Lazy or broke? _I replied.

_so suspicious. maybe i just want to see you._

I burned red, and I could feel myself grinning like an idiot. Naruto took one look at me and rolled his eyes, pulling up in front of his favorite ramen shop, Ichiraku. I was embarrassed, but I couldn't help it. it was a lot like he was back in the book again, being almost _too _sweet, only now I didn't have to worry about a time limit.

_Fine, will do. We'll be back in an hour._

I put my phone away, got out of the car, and followed Naruto into Ichiraku.

"Can't he leave you alone for _five minutes_?" Naruto grumbled.

"He _loooooooves _me," I sang.

-x-

"Naruto, you suck. You suck like a vacuum. I'm _broke _now. flat-out broke. Broke like a—"

"I get it," Naruto said hastily. Then he shot the paper bag in my hand a very sour look. "Didn't stop you from getting too large coffees _and _muffins. Face it, Sakura-chan, you're just discriminating 'cause I'm blond and cuddly." He fished his keys out of his pocket. "If I looked more like Kiba, you wouldn't care."

"Shut up," I said. What the hell, I'm not _that much _of a slave to my boyfriend. Or any guy. I am woman, hear me roar. "I couldn't buy it for myself and not him. then I'd look like a pig."

Naruto laughed but – wisely – chose not to comment. He unlocked the door to his room and pushed it open. I followed him inside to find Kiba sitting on the couch, textbook in his lap. He looked up when I entered and smiled wide – but not at me. At the coffee in my hands.

"Caffeine!"

"Also, _love of my life!_" I said pointedly, and he grinned. I walked over, handed him his cup and paper bag, then lifted the lid of my own, settling myself on the other end of the couch.

Naruto frowned at us, unwinding the scarf from around his neck. "Can you not flirt in front of me?"

"Sure. Sakura, let's go to your room."

"_NO!"_

I laughed. "Relax, Naruto. I'm leaving soon. I have work to do, anyway." I moved to get up, then, on impulse, leaned over and pecked Kiba on the cheek. Then I got to my feet before he could see my cheeks turning pink.

"_Bye, _Sakura-chan." Naruto didn't sound happy.

"Bye, _Sweetheart_."

As I closed the door behind me, I could've sworn I heard Kiba laughing.

-x-

Shikamaru got out. The case against him was strong, but he continued to deny charges, so he was out of trouble – until his trial, anyway.

"But he's suspended," Ino said. "He's staying with his parents until the trial."

I wanted to comfort her somehow, but she was driving – dropping me off at work – so I could only offer her words. "I'm sure everything will be okay. He's innocent, right?"

Ino rubbed her eyes wearily. "Yeah. Right."

"Don't worry, Ino." She didn't reply. "Come on, Tenten's party is tonight. You should come, take your mind off things."

"I don't know…"

"Come on, Ino. Everyone's going. You need a distraction."

She exhaled, sending her bangs fluttering. "Okay," she finally agreed. "I'll go."

"Great. Ride with Naruto, Kiba, and me."

Ino gave me a small smile. "Thanks, Sakura. I'm sorry for being so moody."

"It's fine," I assured her hastily, "You're just worried. We all are."

She stared straight ahead at the road and didn't answer for a long time. Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight, her knuckles were turning white.

Only when Ino had pulled into a parking spot in front of the pet store did she turn to me, fidgeting with the sleeves of her magenta hoodie, and speak. "It's not just that," she began awkwardly. "I mean… he says he didn't do it, but what if he _did_?"

I stared at her. "Shikamaru wouldn't do that," I said slowly. "You should know that better than anyone."

"I know," Ino said glumly. She pressed her glossed lips together for a moment, thinking. Then she said, cheeks blooming red, "It's just… I mean, he dumped me without warning. And I had no idea why – not _then_."

"What, you think—" I tucked a lock of hair behind one ear, fixing her with a disbelieving stare. "You think Shikamaru _does _do drugs? You think that's why he dumped you?"

Ino looked miserable. "it could happen," she said weakly.

I didn't know what to say. Either I told her that sure, her boyfriend of five years did drugs, or no, he dumped her for an entirely different reason entirely. You see my problem.

"I think you need to have more faith in Shikamaru," I said. I was such a hypocrite. I smiled at her, hoped it was reassuring. "And, tonight, you're going to move on. Okay?"

"Okay," she said. Then, with a nod for emphasis: "Okay. Now get out of my car already. Pick you up at five! Bye!"

-x-

"I'm worried about Ino," I said, as I restocked the shelves of dog treats. Hinata was manning the counter, and she was nice enough to turn a deaf ear to my cell phone conversations when I was on duty.

"Yeah, so is Naruto." I heard him swallow as he took a sip of coffee. "He took Chouji out to lunch to try and cheer him up. I'm not so sure about it, though?"

"What?" I asked, crouching to stock the bottom shelves. I switched my phone to the other hand, rubbing my shoulder.

"Well, they're stressed. Of course they would be. You would be too, if I got arrested."

"Well, duh."

Kiba laughed a bit, and I took a moment to picture him, sitting at his desk with his textbook open in front of him, twirling his highlighter through his fingers. My heart warmed at the thought.

"But I don't know if they're as sad as you think they are."

"Of course they are! Like you said, if you got arrested, I would be crushed."

"But that's because I wouldn't have done anything wrong."

"Neither did Shikamaru," I pointed out, not totally believing it.

"Are you sure about that?" I didn't answer. "Well, okay, you know your friends better, I guess."

"Just… try to cheer her up tonight. Dance with her or something. She likes dancing, and she thinks I suck at it. Which I kind of do."

He laughed again, and then spoke, softening his voice: "I'd like to dance with you."

I burned red, and ducked behind a shelf so Hinata wouldn't notice, lowering my voice to nearly a whisper. "I'd probably step on your feet."

"I can take it."

My heart was pounding, and my jaw was starting to ache from smiling so much. I glanced up. The puppies sat in their pen, staring up at me. I moved closer, reaching out to pet Akamaru. "I have your dog here."

"Oh yeah?" Kiba said, brightening. "Let me say hi to him!"

I didn't want to risk the speakerphone, so I just waved my cell phone above Akamaru's head. He stared at it, bemused, until Kiba's voice came through: "Hey Akamaru! How're you doin'?" Then he started barking madly, jumping for my phone, and I had to pull it away, laughing.

"I think he misses you. you should come see him sometime," I said. I suddenly heard voices as the door opened, and cursed. "Customers, ugh. Duty calls, Kiba."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight. Have fun."

"Ew. Bye!"

Later, after the customers had left and we were closing up, I remembered the party and asked Hinata if she wanted to come. She burned red at the invitation and hesitated.

"It'll be fun, and Naruto will be there too. You'll have company," I said, pretending not to notice when she turned, if possible, even redder. Her crush on Naruto was cute, even if I didn't get it _at all_. "So will you come?"

She bit her lip, then nodded. "Um… a-are you sure I can…?"

"Of course!" I reached for the notepad and pen by the phone to write down the address. "I'll see you tonight, okay? It'll be great. Wear something nice!"

Hinata nodded, and when I handed her the paper, shot me an enormous smile. I mentally patted my back for being such a good friend.

-x-

Naturally, I was the first one to meet Naruto. I glanced at my watch: quarter past seven. We had agreed to meet at seven.

"They're _late_."

Naruto wisely chose not to comment on my total hypocrisy. "Ino's never on time," Naruto said, like I should've known this. Which – okay, I should've. "And Kiba… probably working hard to impress you." He made a face.

I frowned at him. "What is _up _with you? why don't you like Kiba?"

I expected Naruto to look properly abashed. Instead, he only shrugged. "I don't know. something about him just… bothers me."

I blinked. "You _really _don't like him?"

Now he _did _look abashed. "I don't not like him! I just… don't totally like him. he's nice enough. I just… I don't know."

"Maybe you're just jealous." I shivered, rubbing my arms for warmth – why did I _never _remember to wear a jacket? – and added, "Can you unlock the car? I'm getting cold out here."

"Ah… actually, I'm not driving us."

"What? Then who is?"

as if on cue, a car pulled up in front of us. It was the same black Mercedes we had hitched a ride in almost a week ago. As Naruto and I watched, the door opened, and out climbed—

"_Sasuke?"_

"I told you I was inviting him along, remember?" Naruto whispered to me, then stepped away from his car to greet Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke! you're late."

Sasuke gave him a very dirty look in response. So cheerful.

"But everyone else is lat_er_," I said. "So we're not leaving yet. Are we taking your car?"

Sasuke scoffed. "_I _am taking my car. _You _are not." He shot a very disgusted look at Naruto's car – which I could understand.

"Why waste gas on _two _cars?" Naruto said. "Don't be lame." And he shoved past Sasuke and made to climb in.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Backseat. I'd prefer if I _couldn't _see you."

"Feeling's mutual," Naruto announced, and clambered into the back.

Huh. Naruto had made a friend.

I smiled at Sasuke. "So what made you decide to come?"

Sasuke wouldn't look at me. "I have to talk to you."

My eyebrows flew up – way up – at that. "Yeah? about what?"

He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "It's…" He coughed. It was kind of cute to see him so awkward, though I knew he'd have hated me if I said so. "Well, actually, it's about—"

"Sakuraaaaa!!"

I turned. "Finally!" I called out. Ino beamed at me in apology – but it wasn't like I had ever expected her to be on time – with Kiba in tow – which was a bit of a surprise, but whatever. I forgot all about Sasuke as they approached.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Ino said, rubbing her hands together in excitement. It looked like she was feeling better. then she noticed Sasuke. "Who's this?"

like she didn't know, if the not-so-sly smirk she aimed at me was any indication. Still, I went along.

"_This _is Sasuke. he's driving us. Sasuke, Ino. My best friend."

"Biffles for life!" Ino agreed. Moron. That was so redundant.

"And this is Kiba," Ino added. Right. She didn't know that the two of them had already met. And before Sasuke could say otherwise, I jumped in.

"Yeah! Um, Kiba's a friend of mine. From my year. We just met this one day, It's kind of a funny story—" God, I was _not _cut out for lying. "He's, uh, coming with us," I said, with a glance at Kiba for help.

Though Kiba didn't look happy. Clearly, no help was forthcoming.

I rocked back on my heels, floundering for something to say. Kiba looked _mad_ – his lips were set in a frown, brows furrowed over burning brown eyes. Sasuke remained impassive, but there was a crackling, electric _anger _in the air between them. Even Ino seemed to sense it.

But as she opened her mouth to question them about it, the window beside me rolled down, and Naruto stuck his head out.

"Come _on_, guys! Par-tay!"

Spell broken, the four of us piled silently into the car. I sat in the front so Sasuke could tell me whatever it was he had wanted to say. But when I asked, he refused to reply.

"Later," he said, looking pale –pal_er _than usual – and anxious.

So I would wait.

-x-

Ino went on ahead into the party, disappearing inside almost before the rest of us – by which I mean Sasuke and me, the only mature adults in the car – had even undone our seatbelts.

"Someone's eager," Kiba said.

"She's always like this," I told him, opening the door and climbing out. Though I stared after her all the same, kind of weirded out myself. Ino had seemed so sad and worried all week. How was she back to her bubbly, somewhat-irritating self already? Not that I wasn't glad. But it was strange.

"So, c'mon Sasuke, I'll introduce you to my friends!" Naruto said eagerly. Sasuke just looked at him, then shifted his gaze to me.

"I need to talk to her," he said.

I started to nod – before I noticed Kiba walking away from us. Something in the set of his shoulders made me nervous, so I called after him. he didn't even pause.

Naruto flicked a glance at me. "Maybe he didn't hear you."

"…Maybe." But I didn't believe it. I didn't know what was wrong, but I had to find out. I turned back to Sasuke. "Just give me a minute, okay?"

Sasuke frowned. "Sakura, wai—"

But I had already run off. Some things could wait. Some things couldn't.

I caught up to Kiba easily enough. He was getting a drink in the kitchen, and I managed to corner him by the sink. He didn't look happy.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Why are you mad at me?"

"I'm not."

"You _are. _And don't say you're not – I can do this all night."

Kiba pulled a frustrated hand through his hair and blew out a breath. "It's Sasuke."

"_Sasuke_?" I echoed. It was starting to click into place. God, I was _such _an idiot. "Oh, Kiba, I'm sorry—I didn't even realize—" Of _course _Kiba wouldn't want to be around the brother of the Wishmaker who bound him to that journal – even if he had been the one to free him.

Kiba shrugged. "Yeah. Well." Then he shook his head and straightened. "And now he wants to talk to you? about what?"

"I don't know yet," I said, stepping closer. "But I'm sorry. Really. I didn't even know Sasuke was coming along. It was Naruto's idea."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"They're becoming friends. Or something." I waved a hand. "Whatever. We messed up. Please don't be mad."

He smiled at me and pulled me closer. "I'm not mad at you. You're my everything, remember?"

I laughed. "So cheesy." But I didn't mean it, not really. I liked being with Kiba – I _loved _being with Kiba. No one made me so happy. No one ever _had_.

So when he ducked his head down to bring his lips to my ear and said those three words – proved he felt the same – well, I forgot all about Sasuke. I forgot about Naruto and Ino and Shikamaru. I nearly forgot where I was, just stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed him, because there was nothing else that mattered.

"I'm sorry," he said, when I pulled away. "I overreact."

"It's okay," I said, reaching for him again. "You had a reason."

He laughed when I kissed him and pulled away again. "Do you want to know why I was locked away inside that book?"

I stared up at him, questioning. "I thought you said there _was _no reason." I thought of Itachi, and felt my face heat. If I ever met him…

Kiba hesitated. "Well, actually, I was going to say something about destiny, and how it was so I could be here with you…" I laughed, and he added, "Well, think about it. I'm supposed to be seven years older than you—"

"Creepy."

"—but I'm not. I'm here. And now I can tell you everything you want to know. We don't have to worry about time anymore." He coughed, suddenly awkward. "I'm sorry. I get carried away sometimes. I haven't talked in a very long time, you know."

"I know."

"I haven't talked…" Kiba stared unseeingly at me. "Haven't heard anything, seen anything… haven't touched anything," he said, softer now, as his gaze focused on me once more and he reached forward to trace the line of my jaw with one finger. "Haven't seen the world change. Haven't _met _anyone, until you come along."

My heart ached. Why had Itachi made him suffer so much, for so long?

His fingers trailed down the slope of my neck to the collar of my shirt, and my breath quickened when he followed the dip of the neck. Then he smiled, noticing my heavy blush, and pulled away.

Silence, but for the thumping of music and mix of happy voices from the next room.

"Am I the only one who wants to leave this party now?" Kiba finally said, looking at me in a way that sent tingles down my spine.

"No," I told him honestly. "But I'd better go see Sasuke first. It's okay," I added, at his expression, "We'll get a cab or something back to campus. Okay?"

"Okay." Kiba half-turned, looking out the kitchen at the mess of bodies enjoying the party. "I owe Ino a dance anyway, right?"

"Eh, she actually looks a lot better," I said, following his gaze. I could see Ino on the dance floor. "I'll be back soon, okay?" And without waiting for an answer, I was out the door.

-x-

Sasuke and Naruto were, not quite surprisingly, still right where I had left them. They seemed to be deep in conversation – serious conversation, judging by Naruto's expression – but broke off when I neared.

"Hi, sorry, about that." I looked from Naruto to Sasuke and back. "Am I interrupting something?"

Naruto smiled. "Nah, Sakura-chan. Sasuke was just telling me about how Wishmakers work!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot," Sasuke hissed, before I could say the same, and I laughed.

"Sorry, loud and obnoxious is his default," I said, then turned to Naruto. "Hey, I saw Hinata inside. She looked kind of embarrassed, she was stuck with Neji. I told her you'd go and keep her company, so…"

"Oh cool, she came? I'll go say hi! Later, Sasuke!" Naruto waited a moment for a reply. It didn't come and, with a roll of his eyes, he headed back to the house, leaving the two of us alone.

"You two are getting along," I observed. I was surprised, and not just at the two of them getting along. Sasuke had been holding a _conversation _at a _party _with _Naruto. _I hadn't known he had it in him.

Sasuke ignored me. "You took too long."

"I _said _I was sorry. Anyway, we can talk now. what's going on? And this better be good, I left my boyfriend alone for you."

Sasuke pressed his lips together. "Depends on your definition of good." He gestured to the empty sidewalk stretching before us. "Walk with me."

I complied, and Sasuke waited until we were at the end of the block before he spoke.

"It's about my brother," he said, turning a corner.

I followed. "The weasel?" Sasuke smirked a bit, but I hadn't been joking. The guy had trapped my boyfriend in a book. I hated him.

"Yeah. He's been sick for a while."

"Oh." And now I felt like crap. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Sasuke shook his head. "Not that kind of sick. It's… it's the kind of sick only Wishmakers—" He dropped his voice a little when he said the word. Kind of cute—"get." Sasuke pressed his lips together and was quiet for a moment longer. Our steps slowed. The night was crisp and cool, and I folded my arms for warmth. Sasuke didn't seem bothered by the cold. Maybe it was a Wishmaker thing.

Finally, he spoke again. "Making a wish requires a lot of energy, so we gather a lot of it from our surroundings. There are two types of energy: positive and negative. Wishmakers need positive energy. But recently... there's been a lot of negative energy around us. Around _you_."

I blinked. "I'm… sorry?"

Sasuke sighed, staring up at the darkening sky. "It's not _you_, Sakura. it's _around _you. everywhere you go, negative energy gathers in the air. It's spreading. My brother's getting sick. Weak."

A thought occurred to me, and I stared up at him. "But you're okay."

"I'm okay," he said. "But I wasn't on the way here."

I still didn't understand it. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.

"You're not the source, Sakura. you're just its focus. The source—"

my phone started ringing and, automatically, I reached into my pocket for it. but my eyes were on Sasuke. his eyes flashed with something – something almost like pity – as he continued, before I could tell him to stop, because I knew what was coming – don't ask me how – and I knew I didn't want to hear it.

"—is Kiba."

My mind locked down, and I could only stare, first at Sasuke, then down at my still-ringing phone. when I saw the Caller ID, my stomach lurched and I snapped back to my senses.

It was Naruto.

* * *

So… I'm _really _sorry about the wait. A lot has gone on in the past five months, and I've been really busy. I actually had half of this chapter already done for a while, but I was just really unhappy with it, so a lot has been rewritten and polished up. now I know to never do a first-person chapter-fic again. But whatever, it's nearly 2,000 words longer in apology. Does that help?

Anyway. This chapter ended on a note I actually wanted to bring up later. But this fic has been dragged on long enough, thanks to that huge gap since last update, so I'm going to try and wrap this up within the next three chapters or so. Hopefully it won't be too jumpy.

This chapter gave me minor hell, so there may be some capitalization errors. If you see something, please tell me! Kiba's texts, of course, aren't capitalized on purpose.


	6. Chapter Five

**Phantasmagoria  
**_Chapter Five_

Rescues are essential to any good story. They can be rescues from dragons, or they can be rescued from inner demons, but whatever the danger, it links the savior and the saved in a way nothing else can.

From the beginning, I didn't need someone to save me. When I was a kid, I did – I was bullied and lonely, and I met Ino, then Naruto. They were my best friends, always had been, and when I met Kiba and Sasuke, I had nothing to be rescued from.

But Naruto, I had a feeling, needed rescuing. Call it intuition, call it paranoia, whatever. Point is, I saw Naruto's name flashing on the screen of my cell phone, and I didn't even think.

I just ran.

I didn't even answer the phone. I didn't even say a word to Sasuke. I could hear him calling after me, and then, when it was clear I wasn't going to stop, his footfalls as he chased after me. The cool night air bit into my skin, and the trees lining the sidewalk cast creepy shadows, but I didn't stop.

Naruto was in trouble, and nothing else mattered now.

-x-

In the end, it was Sasuke that found him, and that was when I first decided I was grateful to have him on my side.

I had been squeezing my way through the throngs of partygoers, shouting myself hoarse trying to ask if anyone had heard Naruto over the pounding music. No one who heard me had, and he wasn't answering his phone. I hated myself for not picking up earlier.

I went around, opening doors, trying to find him. He couldn't have gotten far, right? He had to be safe, right? He was at a party, there were people around – Hinata! Hinata had to have seen him.

But she hadn't. She hadn't seen him all night, she told me. And that was when I really started to get worried.

Lucky for me, Sasuke was there.

He took me by the elbow and led me away from Hinata and the crowd around us – smart choice, since I was freaking out by then and I didn't want her to worry. But still—

"He went in to see her, right? He said that. He said he was going to go say hi too Hinata. Where is he now?" I bit my lip when Sasuke didn't reply, only lifted his gaze to meet mine, as if to say I should know the answer. "You think it was Kiba?" I asked, my gut twisting at the thought. I didn't know why I was so scared of his answer. Hadn't I run off, thinking the same thing? That Naruto had to be in trouble – because of _Kiba_?

I really hoped that Naruto was okay. I couldn't bear to think what I'd do if he wasn't. Naruto was one of the most important people in the world to me.

And Kiba… Kiba was another. I hoped against hope that Sasuke's words were wrong. Or that they at least didn't mean as much as I thought they did.

But… but what had Sasuke really meant by Kiba being a source of negative energy? More importantly, what had he meant by me being the _focus _of that negative energy? It was all too much to take in, and the possible implications were just too scary.

Maybe Sasuke recognized that disorientation in my expression, because he sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and said, "I can find him."

He closed his eyes for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and I studied the smooth, hard planes of his face. Pale skin, dark hair, sharp features – he really was attractive. If I had gotten to know him under any other circumstances, I would've fallen for him. Even if he had been hideous, he was a _Wishmaker_. Sasuke was fascinating to me.

And as I watched him concentrate, I felt my thudding heartbeat slow. Because the Wishmaker was here. And more than anything, I believed in Wishmakers.

He opened his eyes and looked straight at me, not looking very surprised to see me watching him so intently. I burned red, of course, but he just said, "Come on," and turned towards the back of the house. He led me through the packed, noisy hall to the kitchen. It was quieter in there, with only a few people now, but I didn't see where Naruto could be. Then I saw that Sasuke hadn't stopped, and was heading for the glass doors leading out to the backyard.

He opened the door and walked out, not even waiting to see if I was following.

I didn't even hesitate.

-x-

You know, looking at my story now, I realize there is a _lot _that is just impossible to believe. If I hadn't lived it, I would be doubtful, too. Probably. Like I said, I've always believed in Wishmakers.

My dad is your typical big businessman. He's CEO of his company, _Akatsuki_, and he's… not really a good dad. Never was. Too distant, too busy for me. Which is okay, because I always at least knew he cared. My dad and I have always been a lot alike. Even though he did a lot of underground _deals_ that I wasn't supposed to know about (and believe me, how I always wished I didn't), it was my mom that scared me. My mother, the exotic beauty, that always told me to eat my vegetables and expected – not even _demanded _– the highest grades. It wasn't even that she was strict – all parents are strict. She was just never affected by _anything_. Not when I failed a test, not when I got into the top med school in the country, not even when she found me drunk and slobbering on the floor of the bathroom when I was sixteen. Nothing fazed my mother. Except one thing.

She was a fanatic for Wishmakers.

She had never met one, until I introduced her to Sasuke, a few years later. Her grandmother had told her stories about them since her childhood, and my mother had passed them along to me. When she discussed Wishmakers, she smiled. Her eyes sparkled. And she looked happier than she ever did. Seeing her believe made me _want _to believe. And maybe, because I believed, I found Sasuke.

Maybe, because of my mother's stories, I found a person to save me.

Because remember how I said that I had nothing to be rescued from? It turns out I did. Sasuke and I formed our own bond one day, when he saved me from the person I loved most in the world.

-x-

Somehow, it seemed even _colder_ out when I stepped into the backyard behind Sasuke. Maybe it was because it had been so warm inside, with all the people dancing so closely together. Maybe it really _was _colder. Maybe it was something else.

I slid the glass door closed behind me and turned to see Sasuke staring at me, one eyebrow raised thoughtfully.

"What?"

Sasuke's gaze swept over my bare arms, and then he began to shrug out of his jacket.

"Wha—" I began as he peeled it off. He tossed the jacket to me, and I caught it, baffled, because I'm extremely stupid.

"You look cold," he said, turning away again. "Wear it."

I looked down at the black leather (of course) jacket in my hands. It was surprisingly worn, for Sasuke, who always seemed to be wearing brand-new clothes. I smiled and tugged it on, pulling back the sleeves as I caught up to him. We walked side-by-side in silence, and I wondered where we were going. Where could Naruto be?

Beyond Tenten's backyard, behind the fence, was a long, winding stream of clear water. Further beyond that was a thick wood.

Sasuke noticed me staring at the trees, and shook his head.

"Come on," he said, crossing the yard. There was a shed in the corner of the yard, nestled in a clump of bushes. Tenten's backyard needed some _serious _management.

I hastened to catch up to him, watching the shed with fearful eyes. What was I going to find in there? What would Naruto tell me?

Only Sasuke didn't open the door of the shed. Instead, he crouched beside the bushes, and my heart leapt into my throat.

I fell to my knees beside Sasuke, and he looked at me for a long moment, then reached out, brushing the bush aside.

Naruto's favorite color is orange, and he wears a lot of it, always has. He used to tell me it was so that people always turned to look at him, wherever he went.

That flash of orange in the dark shadows of the bush was the scariest thing I've ever seen.

"Naruto?" My voice broke, and I reached in to grab that bit of cloth – Naruto's sleeve, I realized – with shaking hands. God, what was _happening? _This was so _surreal_. Sasuke reached in to help me, and we eventually pulled Naruto's limp body out of the bushes and laid him on the grass.

His eyes were closed. His face was bruised. He was bleeding – from tiny scrapes, a nasty gash above his left eye, and a sizable cut on his right shin – and one of his wrists wasn't sitting right.

I stared at him for a long moment. Then my face crumpled, and I began to flat-out _bawl_.

"Sakura," Sasuke hissed, but I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut, and continued to wail.

"_Naruto…." _I sobbed. Sasuke touched my arm, and I heard him saying my name again, louder this time, but I ignored him. Why couldn't he just let me cry? Or, better, comfort me? My Naruto was _hurt_, and I didn't know how badly. I didn't know what to do. My best friend…

Sasuke yanked my arm down. "Sakura!" he snapped, and I turned to face him, then sucked in a breath and drew back.

His eyes were flashing red.

Sasuke sighed, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were back to normal. Had I imagined that?

"Sakura, shut up. Someone will hear you."

I glared at Sasuke. What the _hell_.

"Come on, we'll take him to the hospital," Sasuke said. Then he hesitated and looked back at the house.

"We can't leave Kiba here," I said, and Sasuke looked back at me, then nodded once. "Where is he, anyway…?"

I rocked back on my heels, staring up at the house. There was a window right above us, dimly lit, the only one upstairs that was. Every other room was dark, for obvious reasons. My lips curled at the thought, but I didn't take my gaze off the lit window. There was a figure standing by it, presumably looking down at us. The figure shifted, and I could see the spiky hair.

My stomach dropped.

I turned back to Sasuke. "I think I found—What are you doing?" Sasuke was holding his hands above Naruto's wrist, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Healing him," Sasuke said, and moved to start on Naruto's leg. I examined Naruto's wrist. It looked normal. "I can only do a little, but…" Sasuke passed a hand over his eyes. He looked tired, and I felt a stab of sympathy.

"Sasuke… thank you," I said, and Sasuke dropped his hand to look at me. "I'll never be able to thank you enough for doing what you've already done for me." Still he stared, and I smoothed down my hair self-consciously. "Um, I—"

A cough distracted me. "Sakura-chan?"

I whipped around. "Oh my God! Naruto!" He pushed himself up on one elbow, and I launched myself at him before I could remember that I should probably refrain.

To his credit, Naruto hugged me back with one hand and didn't complain. Then I felt the blood on his shirt smudge my chin, and I pulled back, horrified.

"Oh, my God," I said again. "I'm so sorry. Here, lean on me." I helped Naruto into a sitting position, and he leaned against my shoulder, rubbing his aching ribs.

"Thanks," Naruto said. He shifted his gaze to Sasuke. "You, too. I didn't know you cared about me so much."

Sasuke frowned. "I don't," he said, and I wanted to smack him. He nodded at me. "But _she _does."

Naruto found my hand and squeezed my fingers. "Sakura-chan loves me," he said – a bit hesitantly, and I stared at him for a moment, baffled.

"What _happened_, Naruto?" I demanded. "Tell me who hurt you so that I can break him. Or her," I added hastily, hopefully. I didn't want to have to choose between Kiba and Naruto, especially knowing who I would choose: Naruto. Always Naruto.

Naruto looked away, and my gut twisted. I didn't even need him to say it.

"I didn't see his face," Naruto said. "He hit me from behind."

"No one else saw?"

Naruto shook his head. "I came out here, and—"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

A hot, angry flush bloomed over my cheeks. "Why did you come out here alone?" I demanded, voice rising. I knew I was being irrational, getting angry with Naruto for no reason, but I didn't care. "Why didn't you go hang out with Hinata or something, _like you said you would? _No one knew where you were! What if something _happ—_"

"Ino."

I broke off. "What?"

"Ino," Naruto repeated, looking miserable. "I saw her. With Kiba. I came out to follow them."

I stared.

Oh, God. Not Ino. _Not Ino_.

I shot to my feet, and Naruto lost his balance before he straightened and looked up at me. "Sakura-chan—"

Sasuke got up and held out a hand to Naruto. "Sakura," he began.

But I was already running.

-x-

Am I just stupid? Looking back over my story, I think maybe I am. The signs were there, but I missed them. I don't know how, but I missed them.

This is what I expected to find in that one lit-up room on the second floor: Kiba, hurting my best friend. Ino's hair stained red with blood. My heart, shattered on the floor.

This is what I found instead: Kiba, standing over my best friend. Ino lying on the bed, hair splayed across the dark pillow, smiling up at the ceiling, giggling to herself like she was high. My heart, shattered on the floor.

Ino noticed me in the doorway first. I say that, but I didn't think there was any way for Kiba to not have known I was there. She saw me and she sat up and beamed at me.

"Sakuraaaa!" she sang, and I raised my eyebrows. She slipped off the bed without even a glance at Kiba and skipped over to me. "Hi!"

I looked past her at Kiba. He was smiling at us, like nothing was wrong.

"Hi." I couldn't smell anything on her, not even the lightest trace of alcohol. "You look happy."

She nodded, bouncing a little on her toes. "Kiba made me happy."

My gut wrenched, and I looked at Kiba again. He looked away. I turned back to Ino, who didn't look the least bit apologetic. And why would she? I had never told her about Kiba and me.

"Sakura," said a voice behind me. Sasuke. I didn't even need to turn to know it was him. It was always him, it seemed.

Ino bounded past me, still giggling excitedly to herself. As I watched, she squeezed Sasuke in a tight hug, and he stiffened, looking shocked. Ino pulled back, smiled at him, and went down the hallway, twirling and dancing all the way to the stairs.

"I'll take you home," Sasuke said to me, still looking disturbed by the hug.

"Sweetheart," Kiba started, and I looked back.

"_Sakura," _Sasuke said, more insistently this time. I looked at him, then back at Kiba.

Kiba stared at me, waiting.

I turned my back on him and walked out.

-x-

I held Ino's hand as we walked through the crowded house. I felt numb. Nothing was processing. Had Kiba and Ino really-? What was wrong with her now? Why had Kiba done all this? What was _I _going to do about it?

Ino slowed as we neared the door, and I saw her watching Shikamaru, who had just walked in and was unzipping his jacket. He noticed her staring at him and looked uncomfortable.

I tugged on Ino's hand, not wanting a scene just yet. To my surprise, she let me lead her away from Shikamaru – where we bumped into Lee.

"Hi, Lee," she said brightly, leaned forward, and kissed him.

Lee pulled back immediately, looking at me with shocked – and almost hurt – eyes. Lee had had a crush on me for years, and Ino had, more than once, told him he had no chance.

"Ino!" I hissed, glancing at Shikamaru. He stood gaping, mouth half-open. Had she been trying to make him jealous? "What the hell?"

Ino touched a finger to her lips thoughtfully, then shrugged and said, "Shikamaru kisses better."

Shikamaru looked flat-out _floored _by now.

"Ino," he said, taking a step forward. "What are—"

"We're leaving," I said hurriedly, because Ino had been looking at Shikamaru like she wanted to kiss him again, too. I grabbed Ino by the wrist and began dragging her out of the house, looking back at Lee. He watched me with big, bemused eyes, and I felt my gut wrench.

"I'm sorry," I said to him. I didn't know what else to add, so I kept walking.

When we reached the car, I saw Naruto sitting in the back seat, eyes closed. He looked worn-out. I glanced at Ino. In her condition, I couldn't let her near Naruto – if she tried to kiss him, he would freak – or Sasuke – I didn't want her trying anything on him while he was driving. I opened the backseat door and said, "Naruto? I need you in the front seat. Please?"

Naruto opened his eyes and stared at me. "Why?"

"Because something's wrong with Ino, and I don't know what."

From the driver's seat, Sasuke turned. "What's wrong with her?"

"Like I just said," I said, frustrated, "I don't know."

Sasuke got out of the car and came around to my side. "Look at me," he said to Ino, and she obliged. Her eyes were wide and happy. Sasuke looked her over, then touched two fingers to her forehead. Again his eyes flashed red, and this time I saw the three spinning black commas, it looked like, around his pupils. What the _hell?_

Sasuke blinked, eyes black again, and turned to me.

"What's wrong with her?" I whispered.

"Nothing I can't fix," Sasuke said. He pressed his car keys into my palm. "You drive. Naruto, sit up front." I didn't move, just stared at him, and he frowned. "Hurry up."

I swallowed back a lump in my throat – who knew where it had come from? – and got into the car.

-x-

Sasuke did something to Ino, and she fell asleep before we reached campus. I made a quick phone call to a friend I knew didn't attend parties and would be in his room studying. His name was Sai, and he was in most of my classes. We studied together, and he was kind of rude and obnoxious and irritating beyond belief, but I trusted him to help me carry Ino to her room. I gave Naruto my keys, and he and Sasuke went to my room to wait for me.

I hesitated before leaving Ino, but her roommate, Shiho, promised to keep an eye on her and call me if Ino woke up, so I left.

I found Naruto sprawled on my bed, half-asleep, and Sasuke sitting at my desk, looking tired. I noticed Naruto's face looked a bit better, and figured Sasuke had tried to work on him some more.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said when I entered, struggling to sit up.

"Shh, it's okay," I said, walking over to stand over him. I pushed him back, gently, against the pillows. "Sleep."

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan, I—"

"You have nothing to be sorry about," I said, turning away from him and kicking off my heels.

"How's your friend?" Sasuke asked.

"Fine, I think. Asleep. Tell me what happened to her." He didn't reply. "Was it Kiba?"

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and nodded.

I prayed my voice wouldn't shake. "What did he do?" It didn't.

"I told you about positive and negative energy. All Wishmaker power comes down to that. You need a balance," Sasuke explained. "Too much negative energy made Itachi sick. Too much positive energy, in your friend… was no better."

I sat down on the edge of the bed, dropping my head into my hands.

"I don't understand any of this… why would Kiba _do _this?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said.

I sighed and, without changing into pajamas, crawled under the covers beside Naruto. I didn't care if I looked rude. I couldn't think anymore. Naruto put a big, warm around me, and I fell asleep curled into him.

He fell asleep beside me. When I woke up in the middle of the night, Sasuke was sitting at my desk, head drooping and eyes closed.

I fell back asleep, vaguely wondering where Kiba was…

-x-

The next morning, Ino was still asleep, Naruto and Sasuke were still in my room, and I had snuck away to Naruto and Kiba's shared dorm.

I thumped on the door. No answer. Thumped again. Still nothing.

I sighed and settled down in front of the door to wait.

-x-

Kiba didn't return until the day after.

-x-

The day before I saw Kiba for the last time, I went back to my room and found Sasuke gone, but Naruto lounging on my bed, waiting for me. He looked even better than before. _Sasuke again_, I thought.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said, taking my hand in his and staring up at me. I sat down beside him on the edge of the bed, waiting. He seemed to be searching for words.

Finally, Naruto said: "Sasuke told me something, the night of the party."

_What now? _I thought. "What did he tell you?"

Naruto saw my expression and smiled a little. "Nothing like what he told you. I told you he was telling me about Wishmakers, right? I mean, everything I know, I know from you, and no offense, but you don't know a whole lot about them and—"

"_Naruto."_

"Right. Sorry." He scratched his nose, stalling, and then said, haltingly: "I'm actually not supposed to tell you this – Sasuke told me not to. Sasuke told me why Wishmakers don't abuse their powers. I mean, they have a lot of it. We always wondered what stopped them, right?" When I nodded, he went on. "For every wish a Wishmaker grants, he has to suffer a year in a kind of purgatory." I could tell Naruto was quoting from Sasuke, but I didn't know how to react.

"After he dies," Naruto continued, more quickly now, as if he wanted to get the words out and done with, "Sasuke will have to suffer for years – one year for every wish. He knows it's coming, and knows that he'll have to face all these unimaginable pains. Like, twisted things, Sakura-chan. stuff we would never even have nightmares of."

I felt sick. Why was Naruto telling me this? Then I thought of the wish Sasuke had granted me – to get Kiba out – and thought I might throw up. I had just added to his suffering. Why had he done it for me? He must have realized – as I was beginning to now – that Itachi wouldn't have trapped Kiba inside that book for no reason, if there was such a heavy penalty for it.

"Sasuke didn't know," Naruto said quietly, as if he had read my mind. I turned to him, uncomprehending, still in a state of sick shock. "He didn't know about the penalty until it was too late, and Kiba was out of the book. But he knows about it now, and this is what I _am _allowed to tell you." Naruto pulled his hand away, and I leaned in closer, every muscle in my body tensing.

"Sasuke said that he's willing to take the penalty one more time," Naruto said, voice gentle, to soothe the blow of his words. "If you want it, he'll grant you one more wish."

-x-

After Naruto left my room, I sat at my desk and read the journal once, twice, three times. Then I flung it at the wall and went to bed.

-x-

I went to see Ino the next morning. She had a migraine and couldn't remember the party. All things considered, that was probably for the best. I told her to take it easy for the day, and then I left the room. I met Lee outside the Student Centre, where he was fishing through his pockets for a pack of gum.

"Hello, Sakura," he said cautiously when he saw me.

Conversation was awkward for a few minutes. Then I rubbed my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm… Things have just been weird lately."

Before Lee could forgive me, like he always did, I ran off.

He didn't follow me.

-x-

This is how I found Kiba: on my way to the grocery store, early evening, before class. I was going out to buy myself chocolate and milk the day my life changed. It was even worse than a garage sale.

He was on the other side of an empty street, not moving, not facing me. I ran across to him, not even checking for any oncoming cars.

"Kiba," I began, stepping towards him. The wind tugged at my hair, and I shivered. Dark, angry clouds gathered low in the sky above us. It was going to rain soon. I bit my lip. I didn't want to do this. Not here. Not now. Things had been going _so well._ What had _happened _between us?

He didn't turn around, so I spoke again. "Kiba?" I gripped the hem of my skirt and took a deep breath. "Kiba, please talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Sakura."

I shivered at the tone of his voice, but continued forward, still pressing. "Please don't say that. I—"

"I know. You talked to Sasuke." He took in a breath and turned, _finally_. I faltered at the look in his eyes: agony and fury and terror, all rolled into one. _"Why?"_

"I…" I swallowed. "_He _came to _me_." I hesitated, then plowed on: "To warn me."

"To warn you about _me_," he said. "Because he thought I would hurt you." When I didn't say anything – what _could _I say? – he added, "Did you believe him, Sakura? Did you believe I would hurt you?"

"I—"

"Did you think I would hurt you, Sweetheart?" he asked, striding forward so we stood toe to toe. He cupped my face in one rough hand. "The girl I love more than anything? You _saved my life_, Sakura. I owe you everything. Why would I want to hurt you?"

"You hurt Ino," I whispered.

He took half a step back, then a full one forward. I stayed where I was. "I only cheered her up. Isn't that what you told me to?"

"I didn't mean it like that." I bit my lip. "What about – what about _me_?"

Kiba stared at me.

"I didn't kiss her. We didn't do anything like that."

It was so wrong, but that made me feel so relieved.

"But what do you care? You've got your Wishmaker."

My eyes widened, and I stared at Kiba, baffled. "Sasuke's just a friend."

"Yeah, a friend who's trying to rip you away from me."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

"Come _on_, Sakura." Kiba took another step towards me. This time, I took an involuntary step back, and he stopped, looking hurt. My gut wrenched. "The guy's brother locked me in a book. What makes you think he doesn't want to do the same?"

"But—" That didn't make any sense. "He _freed _you."

"Would he free me if he I was as dangerous to you as he's probably been saying?"

I shook my head. I didn't know what to believe anymore.

Kiba took another step forward, and he was suddenly in front of me, hand under my chin, tilting my face up to his.

"I love you, Sakura," he said. "More than anyone in the world. Why would I _ever _want to hurt you?"

I didn't say anything. What _could _I say?

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. God, I was a _horrible _person. How could I doubt Kiba? Yes, Sasuke had told me he was going to hurt me. But so what? I had believed him, simply because he was the Wishmaker. But Wishmakers aren't everything. If Sasuke had said the same thing about _Naruto_, I would've clocked him.

_Why had I been so willing to turn on Kiba?_

A lot of things about Kiba worried me: his past was shady, at best. He had been trapped in a book for seven years. He was temperamental. I knew nothing about him. And then there was my attraction to him: an attraction that I couldn't explain – and I'm not Naruto, the dreamer. I believe in magic, but not in fairy tales, and where else does anyone fall in love so easily?

But I believed, at the very least, that _he _loved _me_. I could see it in the way he looked at me, with big, sad, _imploring _brown eyes. I could feel it in the way his grip tightened on my waist and he ducked his head down towards mine. Hell, I could _taste _it when he kissed me, his lashes brushing my cheek.

I broke away and leaned my head against his chest, winding my arms around his middle. He leaned his cheek against the top of my head, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm so, so sorry. I'm the worst person on the planet, and I love you, and I hate myself and—" I broke off as a drop of _something _landed on my nose. "…Are you crying?"

"No." He pulled me closer, shielding me. "It's starting to rain."

"Oh. We should probably get inside someplace." Not that I really wanted to move. There was something so _nice _about being out in the cold, in his warm arms, surrounded by the smell and sounds of the rain.

"Yeah." He didn't sound like he wanted to move, either, but thunder rumbled in the distance, and he sighed, chest rising and falling beneath my cheek. "Let's go."

I pulled back, smiling up at him. Rain spattered on my cheeks and dampened my hair, but I didn't care. And I _always _cared. But something was more important to me just then.

Kiba wasn't smiling, but he reached out to touch my face, brushing a thumb across my lips. I blushed, and his already intent gaze deepened.

He kissed me again, and I forgot all about the rain, all about Naruto, bruised and broken at home, even about Ino. He was mumbling something against my lips, singers sliding in my wet hair, and only when thunder roared again, closer this time, did I pull back, smiling.

And then I saw his face.

Two things happened then, in quick succession: first, I leapt back, just as Kiba – eyes flashing with bloodlust – swiped for my throat, and stumbled in my panic. And two: before Kiba could try again, a dark-clothed figure jumped in front of me, shielding me. A dark-clothed figure that was becoming more and more familiar to me. A person I would have entrusted my life to, even against my best – or so I thought, then – judgment. A Wishmaker.

Sasuke.

He forced Kiba back somehow – I hadn't seen how – and stepped back, putting distance in between them and taking me with him. He kept me behind him, shielding me from Kiba's gaze.

"What are you doing?" I hissed, curling my fingers around his forearm so tight, I'm sure my nails dug into his skin. But he didn't even flinch. He didn't even seem to notice me.

"Get _away _from her," Kiba snarled.

Sasuke reached back and clamped a hand around my wrist, keeping me behind him. "So you can rip her to shreds?" Sasuke said. "No."

Kiba's eyes flashed again. "I wouldn't hurt her. If it weren't for _you_—"

"Me?"

"And your brother—"

Sasuke growled. "Leave my brother out of it, you _failure_."

I peeked around Sasuke in time to see Kiba leap at him, hands glowing with black energy. Sasuke gathered me up in his arms and leapt, _high_, as Kiba shot the energy at us. I shrieked – I was scared of heights – and began to panic. There were bound to be people around. They would _hurt _someone.

But when Sasuke landed, some feet away, and let me go, I couldn't see a soul in sight. Not even with all the commotion we were raising. Had Sasuke done something?

Something Sasuke had said caught my attention. "Failure?" I whispered to him. He glanced at me, eyes widening slightly. He seemed to have forgotten I was there. I didn't see how he could, considering how tightly he was holding onto me.

"You just need to trust me," he said. He spoke the way he always spoke – flat, without emotion. But there was an underlying sense of urgency in his words, and I nodded.

Some girlfriend I was, right? Some _human being _I was. What was wrong with me, just going along with whatever anyone said? I had a mind of my own, a damn good one, so why wasn't I _using _it?

Sasuke pulled me closer, holding one hand to the back of my head as he expelled another burst of energy.

A wish… Sasuke had said he would give me another wish. But how could I make one if I didn't know what to wish for? I didn't know _anything. _Not about Kiba, not about Sasuke. Why was Kiba attacking me, and why was Sasuke protecting me? How had everything gone so wrong because of a simple _garage sale?_

Sasuke suddenly yelled, and I felt a burst of pain in my arm. I looked down and saw my arm bleeding, the skin _melting off_.

I stared at Kiba in shock, and he stared back, suddenly stopping. He looked horrified, even as his hands smoked and glowed with dark power.

"Sakura," Kiba started, taking a step toward me, but Sasuke whirled on him.

"Don't," he warned. "Don't touch her."

Kiba shot Sasuke a dirty look – but then his gaze snapped back to me. He glared for a moment, to my confusion, then shook his head and looked anguished again.

"Sakura," he tried again, not moving this time, "I—"

He broke off. Glanced at Sasuke. Looked back at me.

"I'm never going to make you happy," he said roughly. He seemed to be fighting with himself. He curled his hands into tight fists and took a step back, bowing his head. "And I'll never keep you safe."

Then he looked back up at me.

"I don't want that," he said. And then he leapt at me.

In the split-second before Kiba touched me, I saw his eyes widen. Sasuke moved in front of me, I moved out from behind him, Kiba turned toward me. I had only a moment to think, but my lips were already forming the words.

"I wish Kiba was back in the book," I whispered, but somehow Sasuke heard me.

Kiba had just reached me when Sasuke's hands flew up. His lips brushed my cheek, and then there was a puff of smoke, and he was gone.

The pain in my arm suddenly hit me, full-force. My eyes rolled back and my knees gave out under me. I felt Sasuke catch me before I hit the ground.

And then the world went blissfully black.

* * *

This is… I don't know. Maybe kind of sudden, but next chapter is the last, and I'm not even calling it a chapter, but an epilogue. So. Sorry, but I've taken so long with updates lately, and I really want to finish this story in 2010, and this is the only way, so… yes. And I know the end seems very choppy. Twas intentional.


	7. Epilogue

This chapter got… much longer than I anticipated. I hope I covered and cleared up everything. As always, please tell me how you found this story overall. Thanks for reading!

* * *

**Phantasmagoria  
**_Epilogue_

Six pages. Six chances.

If you had only six chances to share with someone, to say everything you'd _ever _want to say, what would you start with? Maybe some people are good at this. Someone like Naruto, he can fit everything there is to say in a single sentence. Me, I can't.

This was my only chance to find out what had happened. My only chance to apologize. My last chance to remind Kiba that I loved him.

My only chance to say goodbye.

So you tell me: What did I do? What _could _I do?

-x-

I slept for half a day. Once or twice, I felt myself waking, but every time, my body and mind shut down. Maybe from exhaustion. Maybe because I didn't want to face what had happened. What I'd done.

I heard voices sometimes, when moving in and out of sleep. Deep voices. I recognized Sasuke's. I felt fingers brush against my injured arm, and soothing coolness inside me. Soft sheets around me. A warm wet cloth rubbing at my cheek and forehead. The smell of disinfectant.

I woke up in the middle of the night.

I didn't recognize the room I was in, and it was too dark t make out details. A big room. A big bed. A dark comforter. A desk in the corner, a backpack on top.

And a worn leather jacket hanging off the back of the chair.

I tried to sit up, then let out a hiss as my arm stung. Almost immediately, a hand was behind me, and a voice in my ear urged me to lie back down. I straightened, shocked.

The light switched on. I saw Sasuke standing by the door, looking exhausted but relieved.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, somewhat blearily, getting up off the floor, where he had been sleeping on a makeshift bed of blankets.

I turned my head away from him, staring wide-eyed. "Ino. What are you doing here?"

She tucked a lock of pale-blonde hair behind one ear and studied me with serious blue eyes. Another shock. She was back to normal. Last time I had seen her she had been better, not so loopy, but still disoriented. "Naruto called me."

"And Sasuke called _me_," Naruto added.

"I—" I swallowed, glancing around me. "Where am I?"

"My house," Sasuke said. I looked at him. He hadn't moved from his spot by the door. Ino had been sitting in a comfy leather chair by my bed, and Naruto had been asleep on the floor, but what about Sasuke? I could see no other furniture, and I hadn't seen him sitting at his desk. Then I saw the half-open balcony door behind Ino. He had been outside in the cold? Granted, Wishmakers seemed pretty resistant to cold. But I was still touched.

Until I saw the journal in Sasuke's hands.

I shot up once more, ignoring Ino's protests.

"You read my journal?" I screeched, before remembering that it was the middle of the night and I should probably keep it down. "You read my journal! Our conversations!" Then a more terrifying thought gripped me. "Did you write in it? _Did you waste the pages_?"

I didn't realize I was half-out of the bed until I felt Naruto's hands on my shoulders. He wasn't smiling.

"Sit down, Sakura-chan." I didn't move, and Naruto sighed. "He didn't do anything."

I scoffed, but let Naruto push me back against the pillows Ino had propped up for me. I sat, glaring at Sasuke, trying to ignore the sudden pounding in my head. I felt so tired.

Sasuke hadn't moved, hadn't spoken, hadn't even changed expression.

"I didn't read your journal," he said now. He held it out to me. "I was just going to give it to you."

My cheeks burned with shame. What was _wrong _with me? As if it weren't bad enough that I had treated Kiba so horribly – before banishing him to the pages I had tried so hard to free him from – now I was being a bitch to the people who had helped me. Sasuke didn't deserve my attitude. What _hadn't _he done for me? I owed him my life – literally, now. And here I was, yelling at him for no good reason.

I took a breath, centering myself. "I'm sorry."

If he noticed my voice catch, he gave no indication. He stepped over Naruto's legs to stand by my side, put the journal on my lap, and gently lifted my arm so he could peer at it. I finally noticed the white bandages wound around my wound. They were spotted with pink – my blood.

"I need to change this," Sasuke told me, and I nodded, bracing myself.

Naruto hefted a first-aid kit I hadn't noticed earlier onto my bed, and Ino disappeared into the attached bathroom. She left the door open, but when she ran the water in the sink, I asked, keeping my voice soft, "What did you tell her?"

"Everything," Sasuke said, pulling the comforter off me and starting to unroll my bandages.

"Sasuke's brother came," Naruto added. "He healed both of you."

"Where is he now?"

"He left. He doesn't live here. He went home a few hours ago. Said Sasuke could do the rest for you, but there wasn't much to do." Naruto half-smiled, glancing at Sasuke. "His brother's way better at healing."

Sasuke glared at Naruto but didn't say anything. I smiled at him.

"Thanks, I—" I broke off, eyes widening when the bandage completely fell away.

The skin was healing, of course. _Growing_, actually, I realized, remembering how it had been before. But it was pink and tender-looking, and splotched with blood.

Catching sight of my expression, Naruto said, "It was worse before. Sasuke's been healing you, like, every half hour since his brother left. Kept waking me up, too. Not that I'm complaining!" he added hastily.

"You are, actually," Ino said, returning with a basin of water in her arms. She set it down carefully on the floor beside Sasuke, and soaked a towel in it. She glanced at my arm, and I expected a cringe, or at _least _a grimace, but she just looked relieved. "Oh good, _much _better."

Holy crap. What state had my arm been in before?

Sasuke began to clean my arm, first, _very _gently – surprisingly so – with the wet towel, and then with rubbing alcohol, which made the skin pucker and sting.

"Ow ow _owww," _I said.

Ino giggled beside me. "Suck it up."

"Be a man, Sakura-chan!"

Stupid friends. Sasuke, at least, hurried on to the healing.

He touched my arm gently and his eyes flashed red, just like before. I jerked back, startled, but the others didn't even react. Then I felt that same cooling pressure inside me, and I relaxed. The pain subsided, and as I watched, the skin mended and healed, the wound shrinking. Just a little.

"When am I going to be better?" I asked, as Sasuke began to unwind the roll of bandages. Naruto reached for the bandages to start winding them around my arm, but Sasuke slapped his hand away, almost absently, and shrugged.

"If I keep healing you this regularly… two days? Three?" He looked down for a moment, then back up. "You can stay here until then."

Three days. It was late Monday night – or early Tuesday morning, depending on how you wanted to look at it. I would have to miss class, but I didn't feel up to attending, anyway.

"Stay here…" I murmured.

"My parents are out of town, and won't be back until this weekend. And we have room."

"Sakura-chan's not staying alone with you!" Naruto said, looking scandalized.

"We wouldn't be alone," Sasuke said calmly. "The staff's here." He shrugged, addressing me. "You don't have to. But it would be more convenient for both of us."

"Don't you have school?" I asked.

Ino sighed. "Typical Sakura."

"It's fine," Sasuke said, finishing bandaging my arm.

"But—"

"It's _fine_."

I shut up.

"We should all go back to sleep," Naruto said, after a moment's silence. I finally glanced at the clock on the wall. Three in the morning. "You too, Sasuke."

"I need to—"

"Heal her when you wake up," Naruto said. "Now go."

"It's _my _room," Sasuke reminded him. But he looked exhausted, so without another word, he left. Naruto followed, so Ino could have his "bed". She switched off the light and moved to lie down on the floor, but I shuffled to one side of the bed and pulled back the comforter. Without a word, Ino came to lie down beside me.

"Naruto and Sasuke told me what happened," she said after a moment. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on?"

"I didn't think you'd believe me," I said. "And everything happened so fast."

Ino sighed. "They also told me about the party."

I winced. "I'm so sorry." My voice shook. "I never thought he would—" My voice broke.

"Sshhh." Ino turned to face me, drawing my closer to press my face against her shoulder. "It's okay."

I didn't cry. I closed my eyes and, exhausted, I slept.

-x-

For three days, I stayed with Sasuke. Naruto and Ino had to go back to school, but they visited when they were free. We watched TV. We ate pizza. Sasuke healed me. We even talked.

But not about Kiba. Not about what happened. I gave myself until I was healed and back home to talk to him. I didn't open the journal, and I tried not to think of what to say to him, because I wasn't really sure what I _could _say to him.

Except one night. The first night, Sasuke and I sat in his room while he healed me. His staff didn't know he was a Wishmaker, and Sasuke didn't want to risk using his power in front of them.

"How's your brother?" I asked, breaking the silence we always sat in during healing sessions.

Sasuke glanced up at me, then back to my arm. "He's better. The negative energy is gone. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Some is still hanging around in the air. Mostly around you."

"Oh." I swallowed. "Are you okay? Being around me, I mean."

"I'm fine."

Silence again.

I exhaled, gustily enough to ruffle _Sasuke's _hair, and he looked up again.

"Did you want something?"

I fidgeted with the hem of my denim skirt. Ino had dropped off some clothes for me earlier, allowing me to finally shower. I felt clean now, but my heart was still heavy.

"Are you going to explain what happened yesterday?"

Sasuke finished healing me and rocked back on his heels, staring up at me. I tugged the hem of my skirt lower, feeling uneasy under that dark, knowing gaze.

"What do you want me to explain?"

"_Everything_."

"Your boyfriend tried to kill you. I stopped him. You sent him back into the journal." Sasuke glanced at the journal on his bedside table. "And then I brought you back here."

"Let's start with how you found me."

"I felt a lot of negative energy. I just followed it."

I sighed. Everything made sense to me; I just didn't want to piece it all together. I didn't want to think about what had happened.

"What'll happen to him now?"

Sasuke paused in re-bandaging my arm. "He'll be trapped in the book forever, unless someone breaks him out of it like I did."

"And if that happens?"

"He'll do the same thing all over again," Sasuke said. "Fixate on whoever found him and broke him out. Or…" He looked uncomfortable.

"Or?" I pressed.

"He was very attached to you," Sasuke said awkwardly. "If the next person to find him doesn't form that connection with him, and if you're still alive… he'll find you."

"And?" I asked softly. Sasuke's expression told me all I needed to know, but I had to hear it.

"Destroy you," Sasuke said. Not kill. _Destroy_. "Come after your family. Your friends. Everyone you care about."

Shikamaru's arrest, I realized, remembering Kiba had been in the woods the night before. Ino. Naruto. Even Sasuke. He had been ready to hurt them all. I stiffened, remembering—

"Naruto's car. It was towed, only minutes after you released Kiba. Did he do that?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Possible. Make him angry, even a little, and he'd attack."

I shivered. "But…" I stopped, flushing.

Sasuke finished with the bandaging and I dropped my arm. "But?" he pressed, walking over to the bathroom to wash his hands. I didn't reply, and he came back out, looking curious now. I never really held anything back. Still don't, actually. "Sakura?"

"Well…" I coughed, looking away. God, he was going to think I was the biggest _loser_. "He said he loved me!"

Sasuke's expression didn't change. Wait. That wasn't true. The corner of his mouth twitched. Just a little. "And?"

Flushing an even deeper red at his amusement, I said, "You don't try to kill the people you love."

The amusement faded. "Sometimes there are other circumstances."

I felt a lump in my throat, but I had cried too much in front of Sasuke already. I wouldn't again.

"He couldn't help it," Sasuke said. "He had too much bad energy inside him. It was the reason my brother had sealed him away in the first place."

"But why _did _he seal him away in a book? That's just too cruel. And, as we saw, kind of risky."

"That was all he could think of. They were battling. Kiba was winning. Itachi saw the journal and took a chance – he didn't even think. Killing him—" I winced, but Sasuke ignored me—"Wasn't possible. My brother was too weak, Kiba was too strong, and it's very hard to kill a Wishmaker."

"_Wishmaker?"_

Sasuke looked surprised for a moment. "Oh. I didn't tell you. Yes, Kiba was a Wishmaker. Kind of."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. When Sasuke didn't reply, I shot to my feet. "Sasuke!"

We were only inches apart. Sasuke stared down at me expressionlessly. "Kiba tried to become a Wishmaker."

"Wha—how?"

"I don't know. It's never been done before." I remembered Kiba telling me once, in the journal: _Wishmakers are born, not made. _Then I remembered him telling me he didn't know why Itachi had sealed him away in the book. He had lied to me? "Anyway, it messed him up. Normal humans can't handle that kind of power. The magic overloaded his brain. Warped him. That's why he seemed so normal when he was in the journal – he was cut off from his power."

I didn't know what to say. That was happening a lot lately.

Sasuke walked over to his desk and booted up his laptop, leaving me sitting on his bed. He didn't ask me to leave. He seemed content to ignore me while I mulled over all this new information.

Sealing Kiba in a book still seemed too cruel, even if Itachi had had no other option. With a sinking heart, I realized that I had done the exact same thing only a day ago. But what else could I have done? I remembered Kiba's face. Remembered how he had looked at me. He _wanted _me to seal him back in the book.

I touched my cheek, the last place he had touched me. The last place he kissed me.

"Sasuke," I said. "Is there anything I can do for him?" I couldn't ask for another Wish. I couldn't do that to Sasuke. Or could I? For Kiba, could I do that to Sasuke?

Sasuke didn't turn. "I can't release him from the book again. He won't rest until he finishes you off."

"But spending eternity, trapped in that book is too horrible," I said desperately, then stopped. I closed my eyes.

Sasuke read my mind. "You don't have to do it."

Six pages. Once I used up all the pages in the journal, Kiba would be gone. I knew I had to do it. But I had hoped I wouldn't, had hoped there was another option.

I lay back on the bed, eventually falling asleep to the clicking of keys as Sasuke worked into the night.

-x-

After that conversation, I kept to light topics. I felt guilty every time I thought of Kiba, waiting in the journal – which was all the time, basically – but I tried not to. I had had no other option. I wasn't ready.

Okay, let's face it: I _sucked_.

Sasuke healed my arm almost completely in three days. When he drove me back to campus, my skin was still pink and raw, but considering it had melted off only days earlier, I didn't think that was too bad.

"Thanks," I said when Sasuke parked the car and reached into the backseat for my bag. He handed it to me, and I unbuckled my seatbelt. "For everything," I added, on impulse leaning over to grasp his hand for a moment. I would have hugged him, but even the brief squeeze of his hand had him looking uncomfortable. I unlocked the door and started to slide out, when he called to me.

He still looked uneasy, even more so now. "If you need anything…" He broke off, looking for words. Then he cleared his throat, looking like he wanted nothing more than to drive away from the menace in his life (i.e. me), and continued: "Anything at all… You have my number."

I smiled at him again, deeply touched. "Thanks, Sasuke." Then, not wanting to make him any more uncomfortable than I already had, I got out, shut the door, and walked away.

And once I was out of sight, I felt my steps grow heavier, my fingers tighten on the strap of my bag.

Time to talk to Kiba.

-x-

_Sakura?_

_Sakura?_

_Sakura, have you seen this yet?_

_If you have, please talk to me._

_I don't blame you. I just want to talk to you. Is your arm okay?_

_Sakura?_

My eyes burned. I turned the page.

_I'm here. My arm's okay. I'm so sorry._

I didn't know what else to say. I turned the page. After days of talking to Kiba as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted, this way seemed even worse than before. I felt so constrained.

_Oh, God, Sakura. Okay, don't turn the page until I say so. We're running out of them._

_I love you. So much. I can't believe what I did to you. I don't know… sometimes, when I'm out of the book, I feel… weird. Like I don't know what I'm doing. Like I can't control myself. Sometimes, I would look at you, and feel the way I do when I'm in the book. I knew I loved you. I knew I wanted to be with you. There's something about you, Sakura, I don't know what. Maybe it's because we met so strangely, or because you were the only person in my life for a while, or because you were the first person I spoke to – wrote to – in seven years. I don't know. But when I was with you, I was happy. Sometimes._

_And then, other times… I got angry. I don't know what happened to me. A tiny, insignificant comment – a joke, even – would set me off, and I'd go into a rage. I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to _break _you._

_Don't apologize. Please. I'm so glad you're okay. I'm so glad Sasuke stopped me._

_When I met you before, I don't know. I didn't really remember what had happened to me before Itachi sealed me. Maybe if I did, I could have convinced you not to unseal me. I think it was all the years in the book. My memory grew hazy. Seven years of solitude in these pages is agony, Sakura. It messed with my mind. I wish Itachi had thought of that before he left me in here._

_Sakura, I can't do that again. I can't live like that._

My heart stopped.

_Please, finish the book. Turn the page._

I didn't move. I knew I had to. But, _God_, I didn't want to. Surely, there was another option. There had to be…

_Turn the page, Sakura_.

I turned it.

_Don't make me do this, Kiba. I can't. Please, _please_, think. There has to be another way, something we haven't thought of yet._

After a moment, I turned the page.

_Don't cry for me, Sweetheart_.

Too late, I saw the teardrops on the page.

_I'll miss you._

I waited.

_Turn the page_.

Fall-out sobbing now, I turned the page. Shaking so hard my words were barely legible, I wrote.

_I love you, Kiba_.

Then I pushed the journal away, still open, and dropped my face into my hands, weeping. I didn't settle down for a long time. I cried, thinking of Kiba, of what I had done to him. I didn't stop for nearly half an hour, and when my tears dried up, I just sat there, eyes closed, sniffling.

So it took me a while to notice the last note.

On the inside cover of the journal, inches from my words on the last page, were new words.

_So it turns out we had one page more than we thought. But this is the end. For us. For me._

_Take care of Akamaru. Thank Sasuke for me. You'll find evidence to clear Shikamaru – and implicate me – in my room. Tell Naruto he was a good roommate, and right not to trust me._

_It might not count for much now, but I'll love you for the rest of my life._

_Goodbye, Sakura._

And then, at the bottom of the page, so he couldn't write any more:

_Close the book_.

-x-

There are two things you need to remember after you read my story: (a) this isn't how my love story ended; and (b) I married Sasuke.

You read the second and probably forgot the first, right? I'll address that first, then.

I called Sasuke after I closed the book, broke down on the phone, and then met him for coffee. Sasuke said he wasn't too far, but he had actually never left. He had been waiting for me, knowing I was going to talk to Kiba, and thinking I'd need someone to talk to.

Sasuke was a good friend to me. He was kind and sweet, in his special Sasuke way. He was smart, and Naruto considered him his best friend. Sasuke treated me right and understood me. He had been there, not just for me, but for my best friends. I didn't even realize how I felt about him until one day, when he asked me – looking horribly awkward, of course – on a proper date.

But that took two years. Don't go thinking I was so quick to forget Kiba. I wasn't. Another reason Sasuke and I work: he was _there _for the Kiba drama. He knew what happened – obviously – and he knew what Kiba had meant to me.

It took me time to stop moping over Kiba. It took me longer to admit that there was nothing I could have possibly done to help him. I still wonder sometimes, though. Could I have saved him? And if I had, what would my life be like now?

Back to my first point. Yes, Kiba was gone. I keep the journal with me, in my bookcase. Once I finish writing my story, I'll print it out, get it bound, and keep it next to the journal. Maybe, somehow, Kiba will feel the words.

But that wasn't the end of it. I checked back every day for weeks, but Kiba didn't write back. Sasuke confirmed: he was gone. And even though I was happy he was free, I'll admit, a huge, selfish part of me was devastated.

Remember at the beginning, when I said my love story involved only one person, at least at the beginning? If that's true, then there shouldn't be any reason it couldn't end that way as well, right?

Kiba was gone. But I was still there. I had his words. I had his love, which could never change. I had my memories. Most importantly, I had his journal, which had brought him to me in the first place. It was almost like being back at the beginning.

Almost.

Maybe, one day, someone will find my story, the way I found Kiba's journal (though hopefully not at a garage sale), and maybe, one day, someone else will fall in love with this bittersweet love story.

Oh wait, someone just did.

You.


End file.
